Selena and Joe was a popular story and it really hit home for me
and rolled off the keyboard easy because I knew how it would end.
I lost a few friends in the 911 attacks and the characters Joe
and Selena were based on them. To this day I get emails from
people who want me to change the ending and continue the story,
or give it a heroic ending. I never gave much thought to either
until a regular reader and voter of my stories sent me a
newspaper article from The Daily Mail in the UK of a man who was
"gone" for 5 years and woke up as if nothing happened. I didn't
have a lot of inspiration for this story at the beginning but
after some due-diligence on the subject I began to see
possibilities. I spent an afternoon talking with a psychiatrist
and a clinical psychologist to discuss different treatments for
some of the maladies you will read about here. (a male and a
female from the same practice) There is no one drug induced,
surgical, electronic or shock therapy that works for any one
mental disorder. The particular clinician I spoke with did not
believe drugs beyond simple anti-depressants for calming and
continued human interaction with other patients and an
understanding clinician helped to cure the conditions discussed
here. Even she admitted that no one treatment is the right one.
"As long as one's memory is still there, the capacity for
recovery of the human brain is remarkable."

After reading the story through the first 12 chapters where I use
the  medical situations based on the provided information, with
Selena they both agreed it was plausible, possible, but
improbable mainly because it's hard to fathom someone could fall
between the cracks like that. As for Joe's malady, "it could
happen and has for as many as a few (2 to 4) years, but nine
years would be a real stretch. The male doctor said the story was
"hot and interesting", the female said she liked it but didn't
think it would be "that dirty".

If you really like Joe and Selena, open your mind a bit for some
editorial exaggeration and vote accordingly.

I hope you enjoy the story............petty





Prologue

"Betty, I'm going for a walk and to check on the house!" Scott
Hanson yelled out as he opened the door and waited for his wife
to acknowledge his leaving.

OK Hon, but don't be too long. Don't sit and mope and let it tear
you up anymore. I hate the anniversary. Every year it seems to
take more out of us that the year before." She spoke from the top
of the stairs where she had walked to see him leave.

9/11/2010 had been just what Scott and Betty Hanson had thought
it would be, a reliving of the memory of the day 9 years ago when
it became painfully obvious by days end that their daughter and
her new husband were lost in the fall of the towers of the World
Trade Center. In the ensuing days they would learn of Joe and
Selena's marriage on 9/10 to help facilitate a real estate deal
that seemed to be the last electronic transfer of monies and
ownership to come out of the two behemoth towers that fell at the
hands of terrorists. A quickie on-line will was signed the
evening of their marriage, a simple case of Joe Johnson not
letting any t go uncrossed or i undotted. That will left all of
their worldly possessions to Selena's parents, who were the only
relatives they had. There were specific instructions to arrange
that everything, especially the real estate holdings, stock and
bonds, be eventually left to an endowment for PolyTech. Joe and
Selena probably laughed at the thought of Scott and Betty Hanson
owning Joe Johnsons little palace at the top of their street and
the 3 other homes they had just closed on, as well as a few
million in holdings.

Scott and Betty took a long time before they considered the
windfall as a gift from their daughter, her legacy to them. They
thought they would make the endowments on their deaths and enjoy
what they could while they lived. But, that lifestyle was not for
them. Ross Curran and Slim (Chielm Beupour) managed the stocks
and bonds for them as well as hired services to maintain the
properties they bought as their dying act. Scott and Betty
visited the house in Maine, but never ventured to the others. All
were leased and brought in more money. They lived comfortably,
but not extravagantly. Their one weakness was visiting the house
where their daughter and Joe lived. They kept the pool open as
long as they could each season and often prepared meals there
hoping that some spirit of their daughter and her husband would
be there with them.

Although they never spoke of it, both Scott and Betty often went
to the house alone and lay on the bed where their daughter had
slept and made love. They hugged the pillow and the bed clothes
she had put underneath the pillow her last night there. Although
any scent of their daughter was probably long gone, it still
smelled like Selena. They often wept and spoke to her spirit,
hoping she might hear. As sad as it sounded, it was very
therapeutic and maybe the one thing that got them through the 9
years since.

Of course they loved and missed Joe as well, if not for any other
reason than that he worshipped and took such great care of their
daughter. He made her so happy and changed her life, made her
drive to her goals. Where Scott had pshawed in his mind the idea
Joe had put forth that God had put each of them here together for
each other, he believed it more than ever now.

As he got to the blind drive that led to Joe Johnsons home he
noticed that he needed to trim some branches on the trees that
semi-hid the drive. He made a note to himself that he would do
that when he came up to mow and trim in a few days. Scott kept up
the yard and Betty the inside of the house, what little it was
used. Selena's white Mustang with a red tonneau vinyl roof sat on
blocks in the garage waiting for her return to drive down the
street, her blonde hair flowing in the breeze. Removing the car,
or selling it would be to close the book, and they had no
intention of that.

Scott walked up to the rear gate and checked to be sure it was
secure before unlocking it and entering. He feared kids might
sneak in to use the pool. He rolled back the cover on the pool to
be sure no vermin were in the pool before he ran the filter
overnight. Tomorrow he planned to start closing it for the
season. He checked the locks on the cabana and walked to the
sliding doors and walked inside, wishing he heard the bustle of
teletypes and computers like before, but all was quiet. Scott
walked down though the garage to be sure all was fine and then
made his stop at the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and
laid back, pulling her pillow to his face, inhaling deeply.

"My little girl was protected from everything I could think of,
and I left her in the hands of someone who may have loved her
more than me. He protected her from everything we could both
think of, but neither of us could think of what DID happen. It
was the unthinkable, I am so, so sorry Selena." He said to
himself as if the pillow might hear and relay the message to her.

 He put the pillow neatly back on top of the bedclothes she had
laid there and went to the bar to pour himself a short after
drink to toast her spirit, as he did each time he came to the
house. He flipped on the TV to get the last of the news and maybe
a local drop-in with the nights forecast.

The anchor, Jim Jimpson, was billboarding the last segment of the
news.

"This story is not to give anyone false hope,, but to maybe bring
some joy to a heartbroken family out there. Our Lance McNally
reports;

"Dissociative Fugue State is a mental affliction commonly
diagnosed as Multiple Personality Disorder or amnesia. Although
some countries have almost no cases of DFS there is a nominal
percentage of people diagnosed in the US to make some think that
the disorder is either over-diagnosed or perhaps non-existent. In
any event, those said to suffer with it sometime end up with
total memory loss of their past and wake each day as a different
personality, a personality so complex that doctors feel that it
may be that of, or as, a significant person in the persons past
life. The Edison Mental Studies Clinic in Seagirt, New Jersey is
a small campus that was formerly a summer resort that now houses
60 so called "DFS patients".  (The camera pans away from McNally
to a group of small buildings with a long brick building in the
center) One of those patients, however, has caused quite a stir
because he has now kept the same unwavering personality for
almost 3 weeks and is totally convinced that he survived the 911
attack in the first tower hit and wandered away with his wife,
whom he asks for despondently each day now. His name checks out
as one thought to be a victim of the attacks that day and the
information he is supplying match's the victim. Yet, how likely
is it that a person could have walked away, especially with his
injuries, and gotten this far?"

The screen fills with the face of a middle aged woman with her
name placard across the bottom of the screen. DR. JOANNE CULVER
PHD Head Client Supervisor.

"He was found homeless is Wiggins Waterfront Park in Camden where
he frightened the other homeless so much, because of his ever
changing personality's that they brought him to the social worker
who regularly checked on them. He had a large scar on his head,
like he had been attacked or in a fight, and he could barely
walk, his knees were so bad. We cleaned him up and got him
stabilized and since put him through a couple knee replacement
operations. "John" (not his real name) has never been stable
enough to move from here into society and remains a ward of the
state. Lately he's been with a limited number of the more stable
in the population here to socialize and seems to be quite a
ladies' man, but gets along with everyone in his cluster. But now
this latest personality he has taken up has depth far beyond
anything we have seen in this disorder."

Lance McNally continues: "Is there a possibility that he is who
he says he is and has total memory recall of his whole life?
Statistics say no, only because it's never happened before. His
fingerprints and DNA have drawn no matches. We're hoping someone
see's this story and recognizes him, keeping in mind he's been
here since Thanksgiving 2001."

The brief look Scott had at the man in the story stunned him. The
look was a bit different, but familiar. He recalled the first
time he saw his face answering the door the first time he came to
pick up his daughter more than 12 years ago.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------------

"Ah, you must be Selena's father. My name is Joe Johnson, I'm
here for her, and we're going to dinner and a concert." Joe said
a bit nervously.

Scott Hanson extended his hand and shook Joe's and invited him
in.

"Selena, your date is here." He yelled up the stairs.

A voice from a room off the upstairs landing yelled back.

"I  KNOW! Someone's early." Came her peeved voice.

Scott turned to Joe and half smiled. Before he could say anything
Joe spoke up.
"I came bit early to meet you so you would know who she was with,
so you wouldn't have to worry. I'm really quite taken with your
daughter, she's quite special."

"Special she is! She's said that she was seeing someone she also
thought was special. I know that you haven't pressured her into
being lax on her studies to see each other and I commend you for
that. She says you had a similar experience."

"Yes, I did. I was pushed ahead 2 years and also went to
PolyTech. As a matter of fact, the think tank she will be on Wall
Street for is one I wanted for a long time. I envy her in that
situation, but I know the tough time she is having right now. The
first half semester of the third year is a grinder."

Scott wore the same half smile from before.

"I know you two haven't been seeing each other long, but your
intentions are clear if I read the two of you right. She's
elusive when I ask your age, but I can see you're at least 30. I
also know you run your family's construction company and you are
a Wall Street bird dog. So, I don't think you're a hound. Just be
honest with her, and with me. She's still my little girl, no
matter what."

"Don't worry Mr. Hanson I . . . ." Joe started to say before he
stopped and stared.

Selena was coming down the stairs in a long dress that hugged her
curves; a wine colored affair with gold accents and buttons. Her
hair was up with wispy locks falling at the sides.

Scott Hanson turned to see what had caught Joe's attention and he
smiled.

"I guess I will never get used to how beautiful you are." Joe
said to Selena. "I will be so proud to go anywhere with you
knowing that every man who sees you will do a double take. You
are that breathtaking."

Selena blushed deeply and looked at her father for reaction. Mr.
Hanson kept looking first at Selena, and then at Joe, trying to
read their eyes and reactions. It was clear that the attraction
and electricity between the two was palpable.

Joe walked from his position where he was talking to Mr. Hanson
to the bottom step and extended his hand. Selena took it, smiled
and kissed Joe right on the lips.

"You look quite handsome yourself, thank you.
Mom!! Come see how handsome my Joseph is!!" She yelled up the
stairs.

Joe blushed himself as he saw the attractive Mrs. Hanson come to
the top of the stairs and begin stepping down.

"Hello, I'm Betty Hanson and I'm so pleased to meet you, Joe."
Selena's Mom said as she extended her hand.

Joe cordially extended his hand and then turned to Selena and
offered his arm.

"We should go so we can park and be there for our table. It's
been so nice to meet you both." Joe said as he whisked Selena to
the door.

"Don't be too late!" Scott Hanson hollered as they went off the
porch.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------

"How could this be?" Scott thought as his mind reeled and he fell
back into the stool he had been sitting at like he had been
struck in the stomach.

His mind raced at thinking this was at all possible; that he be
alive and that he knew about his daughter's fate and demise. He
felt a certain joy that Joe might be alive, but more importantly,
did Selena survive as well? Did he have answers?

He fumbled for the DVR to rewind and get the name of the facility
the story was done from and the name of a person he could speak
to. He hadn't even called Betty yet, but he was dialing the phone
for the number of The Edison Mental Studies facility.

Once he got through and asked for Dr. Culver there was a wait and
Scott knew his heart was racing and his breathing became labored
and heavy in anticipation.

JC: "Hello, this is Dr. Culver, is this call in response to the
TV news?"

SH: "Yes, who does this man claim to be?"

JC: "Might I ask YOUR name first?"

SH: "Certainly, my name is Scott Hanson. I believe this man is my
son in law."

JC: "What is his name?"

SH: "I believe that the man I saw in the story is Joe Johnson."

JC: "Tell me something about Joe Johnson that only a person close
to him might know."

SH: "I know you said he had knee replacements, but he has a large
wide scar on the back of his right knee."

JC: "Can you give me a few moments? Let me see what his reaction
to your name is."

Scott Hanson thought he might pass out from anticipation as he
waited on hold for almost 5 minutes before Dr. Culver picked up
again.

JC: "Mr. Hanson, do you think you could come here and speak to us
sometime this week?"

SH: "I can be there tomorrow, my wife will be with me."

JC: "She would be Selena? He asked if she was coming."

SH: "No. Selena was his wife, my daughter. She died with him at
the towers, or so I thought."

JC: (long pause)"I know, I thought they might share the same
name. Umm, . . . . come to the gate and indentify yourselves and
I'll meet you there tomorrow, morning or afternoon?"

SH: "Mid to late morning. If I remember correctly, you're about 4
hours from here, a little south of Asbury Park?"

JC: "Yes, that's it. If you have an email, I can send directions
to the facility."

SH: "Yes, shanson@nysup.tw.com"

JC: "OK, I look forward to speaking to you."

Scott suddenly had the willies, spooked to the core as he rushed
from the house and locked the door, almost running down Sheridan
Avenue and up to his Decatur Avenue home.

Betty was skeptical of the claims of the man, but was hopeful
that there could be more closure on their daughter. Neither of
them slept that night and were on the road by
7 o'clock in order to get their before noon.

Chapter One

Scott and Betty Hanson pulled up to the high fenced facility and
a guard came out of the security station and asked their
business. He took both of their ID's and went to the phone and
called to get clearance for entry. A few minutes later he
directed them through the gate into a gated parking lot. He stood
with them until a woman, the one he had seen on the TV piece,
roll up in a large people cart to whisk them away.

"I'm Dr. Culver and I want to take you to my office so we can
have a talk about the situation we have here. This quite possibly
could be a ruse or sad prank, but I don't see how." She said as
she zoomed the cart to a long building in the center of a number
of small cottages.

"When can we see him? We have to . . . ." Betty started to say
excitedly.

"Please wait until you hear everything I have to say. You may end
up not wanting to see him or be unsure of his identity or
condition." Dr. Culver said holding her hand up forcefully. She
clearly didn't want there to be any false hopes and further
heartbreak caused by the events of 9/11/01.

Once settled in her office with coffee and all relaxed in
overstuffed leather chairs Dr. Culver began:

"A fugue state, formally Dissociative Fugue, sometimes called
Psychogenic Fugue is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by
temporary amnesia for the subjects own identity, including the
memories and  personality and other little tics and habits of
that particular person. The state is usually brief, sometimes
hours or days but has lasted, in some cases, months or longer.
Dissociative fugue usually involves wandering, not knowing where
to settle, and is sometimes accompanied by taking on a new
identity. After recovery from fugue, previous memories usually
return altogether, however there is complete amnesia for the
fugue episode and the time passed. Additionally, an episode is
not characterized as a fugue if it can be related to the
ingestion mind altering drugs, physical trauma, to a medical
condition, or a psychiatric condition like clinical depression,
dementia, and bipolar disorder. Fugues are usually precipitated
by a horrific episode that is sometime blocked out. We said in
the story that "John" suffered from DFS, which is the reason he
has been here all this time. When he woke up some three weeks ago
and took this personality, to him it was September 12, 2001.
Everything that happened to him since 9/11 is supposedly gone
from his memory. We've spent a few hours each day for the last 16
days explaining to him what the world has gone through since the
attacks. He appears to be coming to grips with that,
understanding why he is here. He's a very smart man, whomever he
is."

Dr. Culver paused to sip her coffee and catch her breath and saw
both Hanson's eyes filled with questions and wonderment.

"No questions yet, let me continue." She said anticipating their
eyes.

"In interviews and from a rambling statement he made under a drug
induced semi-hypnotic state here is what we know, what he thinks
and believes.

On the morning of 911 he and his wife met a lawyer and broker
named Gordon Phelan in the Atrium lobby of the tower about 8:25
and opted to go to the Coffee Shop on the 68th floor. They were
there to close a deal on property and Phelan knew he could plug
his laptop into a hot connection there. His office was on the
80th floor, but he had everything drawn up and finishing the deal
over coffee was his preference. He had accessed all of the monies
and securities to close the deal the day before, he just needed
to talk
Umm. . . . .Selena?, into it. When she called her mentor, a Mr.
Curran, he suggested that they be married at the time of the
deal; just to be sure she was protected. That was why they
secretly married the night before."

Betty Hanson broke down crying and Dr. Culver stopped her
recitation of notes.

"If this is too stressful, we can do it without you, or we can
take a break." Dr. Culver asked.

"No,  . . . please go on. I couldn't be any more distressed or
upset than I've been at any other time in the last 9 years."
Betty answered between the tears as Scott took her hand and
pressed it to his thigh, patting and rubbing it.

"Go on." Scott said.

"The deal was closed and they were talking when the attack
started and it was apparent right away that there were major
problems just above them. Gordon Phelan went to the stairwell,
unsure of the elevator and told them to wait. A woman came
running from one of the other offices and said they all had to
get out of the building and they joined a rush in the stairwell
as they all tried to field calls and see what was going on. He's
unsure of some of the trip down the stairs because falling debris
in the stairwell caused a panic and he went over a railing and
down a flight and landed on people. He cut his face badly and
didn't know if he could walk on his right knee anymore. He thinks
he passed out but came to being carried by Selena and another
woman. They were just holding his arms and dragging him between
them, his arms draped over their shoulders. Firefighters on their
way up wanted them to leave him and let the firemen rescue him,
but Selena would have nothing of it. He's not sure of the floor
where they followed a group to a bridge over an atrium and began
to cross it when they felt it shudder. A group of men in
maintenance uniforms called them back across the bridge, and
showed them an exit door where they saw light from the outside.
There was a terrace and staircase to the street. As they came
across that terrace, Selena was now half dragging him alone. A
body fell from the upper floors just beside them, splashing blood
and whatever. Selena fell to her knees screaming and then looked
around to see body parts and other rumpled masses of other people
who apparently jumped rather than burn. They went to move one way
and a sheet of glass came down, they tried to move another
direction to the stairs to the ground and another body fell just
in front of them. At this point Selena passed out and he took her
over his shoulder and tried to go down the stairs, but his knees
gave out and he slid down with her in tow." Dr. Culver said,
becoming emotional herself as she looked up to check on Betty
Hanson.

"Let's take a break here. I'm sorry to put you through this, but
I can't let you see "John" until you know his whole story because
we could lose him again. His diagnosis is so tentative; we don't
know how to deal with him." Dr. Culver reasoned as she took the
Hanson's to a porch where they could get some air.

Scott and Betty spoke but a few words to each other and they held
each other's hand and tried to compose themselves. After 10
minutes Scott was anxious to hear the rest.

Back in the office, Dr. Culver continued reading from the
transcript.

"He really expected there to be ambulances or something there but
people were just rushing away from the scene as something else
was happening, or had happened. (We assume that was the second
building being hit) He was able to get to his feet and drag
Selena, dodging falling debris and bodies. Everyone was shouting
at him to RUN, RUN, RUN. Selena came to about this time and he
told her that they had to run and get out of the area. This is
where he gets real sketchy. He knows Selena was with him but she
was mentally unstable, seeming to dodge falling things that
weren't there. Then came the roar behind them and they turned to
see the building falling, and the run for their lives began.
Walking for what seemed hours they got to the Holland Tunnel and
were told it was unsafe as they were clearing cars out as the
streets were jammed shut. There were 6 or 8 of them together now
and they stormed one of the firemen who were guarding the
entrances. The small group pulled and dragged each other to the
Jersey side where they met lots of others who had come through
the tunnel. He found a spot between some cars to lay Selena down
and try to reason with her, get her back to reality, but she was
in deep shock. He found an ambulance crew caught in the logjam of
cars and people and asked if they could tend to her. They told
him they could take her, but they had no hope of moving for
hours, but if and when they did they would bring her to Christian
Hospital in Jersey City. He remembers little after that. He knows
he stumbled and fell numerous times trying to get away hoping to
get to Christian Hospital and wait for Selena to arrive.
 He saw a sign on the Pulaski Highway with a Hospital marker and
he dragged himself up but tripped and took a long fall into a
catch basin. He remembers laying there hearing the sounds of
sirens and explosions and the next thing he remembers is waking
up here almost 9 years later."

Dr. Culver looked up to a shocked pair of parents and said, "Now
I should tell you, we don't know if the woman he dragged and left
with the ambulance was actually your daughter, or if that even
happened. We want you to talk to him and see if he is totally
with it, knows a lot of other small details of his past where we
don't have to doubt his memory. He has come to terms with the
fact that 9 years have passed. That in itself gives credence to
his mental stability. That should have drawn him back into DFS.
But, he thinks that Selena is alive and on her way to get him. No
one was admitted to Christian Hospital answering her description
or name. No one passed through their morgue that went
unidentified. We haven't thoroughly checked every other hospital
in that area because we don't know if we are on a wild goose
chase or not."

"Can we see him, talk to him?" Betty asked.

"Yes, but not before we tell him that Selena is not with you, and
not before you watch him though a two-way mirror so you can be
sure it is Joe Johnson. Some of the clients can get online and
make up schemes and . . .I don't have to tell you the heartbreak
this might cause. I want you to be sure." Dr. Culver expressed
while jabbing her finger to the desk to accentuate her points.

Dr. Culver brought Scott and Betty Hanson into a viewing room off
a small conference room. Once they were seated Dr. Culver had
"John" brought into the room. The man who escorted him in was
dressed in surgical greens. Joe seemed to be in good spirits and
was friendly, seeming to joke with the orderly.

"Oh God, Scott, that's him!" Betty cried out. "Maybe our baby is
alive somewhere!"

"That's him. He looks a little older, but he still has that
charm, although he looks a little confused. Doctor, do you think
he's OK mentally?" Scott asked.
"We THINK so, that's part of the reason why we wanted you here.
Would you like to talk to him? The orderly is just going to tell
him that Selena is not here with you." The doctor said.

A moment later Joe Johnson dropped his head. He looked up
despondently and appeared to ask why.

The orderly sat with him and consoled him.

"He's telling him that we haven't found her yet and that, like
him, everyone thought she perished in the attacks. He won't
accept that, before you go in wait and see how he reacts." The
doctor explained knowing the scenario the orderly was going to
use.

Joe held up an open hand and pounded his forefinger into it
making several points to the orderly. He wasn't violent, just
forceful, and committed to what he knew, or thought he knew.

"Do you want to go in?" Dr. Culver asked.

"I do." Betty said. "He's our last gasp hope, and we love him for
everything he did for our baby." Scott nodded in agreement as the
doctor walked them to a secure door and opened it, and then
turned into the room they had just viewed.

"Joe, you have two people here who are anxious to see you!" Dr.
Culver said as Joe turned his head and leapt to his feet to hug
Betty Hanson and pull Scott to his side.

He cried like a baby for a few minutes, they all did. After 5
minutes of crying and trying to compose each other, Joe looked at
Scott Hanson.

"I left her in good hands Scott. She was shook up, in shock, but
she seemed physically fine except for a few bumps and bruises."
Joe implored, not realizing how poor his judgment may have been
at the time.

"You did all you could Joe. If she's out there, we'll find her."
Scott said, surprisingly calm.

"Understand that they found her engraved ring the next February,
and then later in March, a money clip she had given you. They
were both in the rubble that they combed for remains. We were
sure you both died, and that was proof." Betty added.

"You have to get me out of here, though." Joe said as if he
hadn't heard a word she said.

"I'm working on that. Let's talk. I've been taking care of your
house you know." Scott said to start a conversation.

From there Joe took off with a series of questions in detail
about the house, it's amenities and quirks. He even noted that
since they had given him new knees, the elevator might be able to
come out. Scott asked him if he remembered the first time they
met and Joe quickly recounted going to the Billy Joel show, his
dinner with Selena and even what she wore. After a half hour Dr.
Culver nodded to Scott and Betty that they should get going. Joe
was adamant about going with them. This was where Dr. Culver
stepped in.
"Joe Johnson, you realize that the world has changed greatly in 9
years and even with what you've seen here on TV and the like,
life out of here will be a shock. We have kept you on medications
for quite some time and have weaned you off most in the past week
or so. Give me 3 or 4 more days to get you clean. If all goes
well, you can leave with the Hansons then. Is that fair?" She
asked him calmly.

Joe stopped and sat back closing his mouth tightly and exhaling
deeply through his nose.

"Fair enough. Four days, . . tops! Right?" He asked.

"If all goes well, Joe. We can't take you otherwise." Betty said,
hoping for the best.

"We will check every hospital anywhere near the Holland Tunnel or
all of New Jersey if we have to. I can check the logs of who
worked that day and find the ambulance crew you left her with.
We'll do all we can, but don't get your hopes up. She would have
contacted us if she was alive or at least OK, don't you think?"
Scott asked trying to allay his own false hope as well as Joe's.

"Maybe we can turn her light on too. Look where I came from . .
(tearing up) 9 years gone and so is Selena." Joe said as Betty
comforted him saying,

"We'll see you in a few days Joe, and we'll pray for you and
Selena."

Chapter 2

Scott and Betty hadn't packed for an overnight trip, so they
drove back home and packed for a few days and were off for New
Jersey the next morning hoping to get some questions answered.
Their hopes were cautiously high that at the very least they
might find a more fitting closure.

Going into the administration office at Christian Hospital in
Jersey City with the story they had seemed a little crazy in
itself, but it was all they had to go on. After a 90 minute wait
they were able to get into to talk to a department head and
luckily it was someone who was there and worked on 911. But,
Shelly Peters seemed reluctant to help them out. The Hospital had
recently went digital so old records were now saved and
accessible through a data-base. Ms. Peters, feeling cornered,
finally relented and agreed to bring up the information on the
day

"OK, I see here who worked the ambulance crews that day and the
times they logged in. One got the early call and was going over
to help, obviously not knowing the magnitude of the situation.
They didn't get cleared until after 7 pm that night and no one
works 12 hour shifts on an ambulance. There were problems there
for sure, this may be the one you want. Let me see, the medic on
duty was E Richards. Emory Richards is now a surgical staffer
now, but I do have his notes here. Let me see if he's in house
right now. He may remember more if he can read his notes, besides
I just have a picture of his handwritten log sheet and he may
read it much better." Shelly said as she pored over the computer
screen and punched her phone to page.

 "One nineteen, dial three one seven. One nineteen, dial three
one seven." was the page heard through-out the halls as the
Hansons sat and waited while Shelly Peters tried to make sense of
the notes.

After 3 or 4 minutes Shelly's phone rang and she nodded as she
listened, then hung up.

"Dr. Richards is in surgery right now, but his staff nurse says
he has a break after this procedure and he'll call me. If you
could wait in the anteroom I'll call for you.
 Shelly told them."

It wasn't long before a tall, good looking man in surgical greens
came in and walked past the secretary saying, "Shell paged me?"
and opened the door to Peters office.

Scott and Betty looked at each other and stood hoping to be paged
in right away. Scott didn't want a word to be said, or opinion
projected, out of his earshot. After a few second wait to be
called, they walked right into the office despite the secretary's
protest.

Dr. Richards was already crouched over Peters shoulder looking at
his notes and Scott Hanson, in a very indignant tone, lashed out.

"Excuse me for barging in, but suddenly I get the feeling that
there's a lot of ass covering here. I only want the truth and to
find my daughter. Considering we've thought she was incinerated
in the towers, anything is a plus. I'm not here to damn anyone,
I'm only looking for answers. Edison Mental Studies asked you
last week for information on a woman answering her description
being admitted on 9/11 and were turned away. We've already
established she was in an ambulance that should have brought her
here. What gives?" He demanded.

Betty reached into her purse and took out a photo of Selena and
held it up for Richards to see.

"Is this the woman that was brought to your ambulance on 9/11
while you were stuck in the Holland Tunnel traffic?" She asked.

Emory Richards stood up straight and exhaled deeply.

"Yes, that's her. Sit down and let me tell you what I remember
and what I've written here in my notes."

"Before you start, is she alive? Do you know?" Betty Hanson
asked, tears of hope streaming from her eyes.

"As far as I know, and the last I knew, yes." Emory answered,
being non-committal, while Shelly Peters sighed in disgust.

"Understand, there was no primer for that day. We usually cruise
the Pulaski Skyway until 9 or so to cover accidents and other
calls. When the news of the first plane hit we decided to go over
and see if we could help. There was a 911 mayday call for any
ambulances in the area. We weren't aware of the magnitude of it
all and got stuck in the tunnel traffic like 9:30. Nothing moved
and around 10:30 or 11 we started to see people walking out of
the tunnel, some abandoning cars, but some walking from the site.
Those walking from the site all had blank looks of panic or
terror and just had to head to their homes the only way possible.
They were like zombies in a panic stupor, shocked. Everything
else was stopped. We saw and treated some minor injuries as we
waited for the traffic snarl to be undone. After seeing and
hearing the buildings fall there was panic everywhere. I make no
indications of time in my notes, but guessing I would say
around11:30 we were told that people were no longer being allowed
to "escape" New York through the tunnel, but they were short
staffed to stop the crush. Everyone was being sent to the site.
We started seeing people covered in the ash or whatever; people
close to the site when the towers came down. The man who brought
whom you say is your daughter was delirious to a point, but
determined to keep going. He almost chanted "got to run, got to
run". The woman could barely stand and held herself up on the
man. He saw us and asked for help saying they had fallen down
some stairs while getting out of the building, that he couldn't
carry her anymore. She was a mess, almost catatonic and had
several cuts. Her clothes were pretty bloody when you looked
close, they were dark. He, he was frantic, wanting to run, but
wanting to know where we would take her. I wondered how far he
could get; his one knee was so twisted as he tried to run. He
knelt over her in the ambulance telling her he would be waiting.
The moment he left she went wide eyed and unresponsive. We
tracked her vitals and called the hospital to get any
instructions. They just said to keep her warm and out of shock. I
thought we were past that. She seemed catatonic." Emory told them
as Scott held onto his crying wife.

"In the panic of it all I made several errors. I should have
gotten their names. I should have stopped him from leaving. I
found she had a severe blow to the back of her head and even
wondered if he had inflicted that upon her. He was already gone
and I wanted to go after him, trying to make use of my training
to not let a situation get out of hand.  I only got 500 yards or
so in pursuit when the other medic radioed me that the woman had
coded. I rushed back to discover she had swallowed her tongue and
I managed to free it for her. I performed CPR and she was
breathing easily in a few minutes. I don't think she was without
oxygen for more than a couple minutes, if that. We kept her
stable, but didn't get free from the traffic until almost 4
o'clock or so. It had to be after 5 or later when we got to the
hospital, and her brother, or father, whoever he was, was nowhere
to be found." Emory Richards finished, holding his head on the
verge of his own tears.

He sat back and gathered himself and continued as he looked at
his watch, knowing he was due in surgery soon.

"I know they took her right into surgery after a couple MRI's. I
think she had a rib broken, close to puncturing her lung and they
removed a blood clot close to the blow on the back of her head.
The notes here say it was consistent with a fall down stairs
because I said I wondered if she had been assaulted. I checked on
her every couple days and they kept her restrained, fearing she
might hurt herself. When they would wean her off medications she
would rage. They identified her as Sue Johnson, because she
whispered it to someone when she was asked. After 10 days with no
one claiming her or any active missing person for her she became
a ward of the state. The fact she was a survivor of the Tower
attack was in my notes, it shows nowhere else. I'm deeply ashamed
that I never followed up on that.

Originally they took her to Hackensack University Medical for
evaluation and treatment. Just out of interest because I wanted
to be a doctor and I wasn't sure what field, I kept tabs on her
and even visited her once at Hackensack, along with other
patients I had been involved with. I remember that they said she
wouldn't speak, and trusted few. Paranoid schizophrenic with
great memory loss was on her chart, I remember. I wondered about
that diagnosis because when I went through the ward, she never
took her eyes off me. I didn't interact with her, I was told that
would have been unprofessional, but she did remember me. The next
time I asked about her they said she had been moved to Hampden
Behavioral Health, a couple hours from here. I'm not sure if she
is still there or not, but that is a great facility because they
don't use any heavy drugs or shock therapy there, just lots of
one on one."

Betty Hanson and, to some extent, her husband Scott were in tears
at this point. They weren't sure if they should have been angry
at the way she fell through the cracks, or thankful that she may
still be alive, or at least relieved that she may not have died
in such a horrific manner as they imagined.

"Umm . . . I can . . . ." Shelly said uncomfortably to break the
moment, "I'm not sure if I can find out if she's still there, or
where she might be. It appears the paper trail ends here." She
said nervously looking down and then imploringly to Emory's eyes

Emory scowled back at her and raised his voice, "OF COURSE WE
CAN, do that right away Ms. Peters. These people have been
through enough and I'm afraid that we, and the system, are at
fault here. Culpability isn't a factor here and we DO bear some
fault," He said with a maddened stare at Shelly Peters.

Shelley's eyes grew big at his words, as if wishing he hadn't
said that in front of the Hansons.

Still reluctant to seem to want to place the call or access the
information she didn't react to Dr. Richards order.

"TAKE CARE OF IT NOW! They are more interested in if their
daughter is still alive than any law suit. Remember that one of
the words on our banner out front is "compassion"." He said
bawling her out, even though it was not his place.

"I'm late for surgery and have been paged a thousand times."
Emory said pulling his vibrating pager from his pocket. "I'm
sorry for any way I may have been at fault here, but I really
feel I did my best. Leave me your information and I'll follow up
with you."

Dr. Richards quickly shook the hands of Scott and Betty and left
the room quickly leaving Shelly Peters to feel very
uncomfortable. She turned to her computer screen and began
inputting information and then sat back and waited for results.
She sat back and sighed at the results she saw and moved to pick
up her phone as if to check with someone about sharing the
results, but remembered Dr. Richards reprimand with a deep sigh
again.

"She's still at Hampden; at least she was in the last patient
audit in July. Let me call them. I work with them from time to
time" Shelly said, obviously annoyed at the position she was in.

After a short conversation Shelly invited Scott and Betty to
listen and talk over the speaker-phone with the person from
Hampden.

"Hello, my name is Avis Strong. I'm the senior therapist here at
Hampden. I work with 8 "hives" of up to 12 patients who live, eat
and socialize together. The one you think may be your daughter is
known here as Sue Johnson. When she first came into the New
Jersey Health System she had no ID, no jewelry, or any other
identifiers." Dr. Strong began.

"Her engagement ring with identifying inscription was found in
the Twin Tower rubble and returned to us about 4 months after the
attacks. That was why we thought she was deceased, Dr. Strong."
Betty Hanson interrupted.

"Please call me Abby, as the clients here do. We try not to be
too formal. Let's not 100 percent assume this is your daughter
until you see her. I'll tell you a little about her.
Sue doesn't speak much, if at all. She's able to, but has said
but a few words since she's been here. She experienced severe
mental trauma that acts like what we call a black balloon. It's
as if you are experiencing life normally, except you have a black
balloon stuck on the end of your nose. She cannot let it go and
can't or won't speak of it. We think she may be very intelligent,
we found her to be quite interested in the Wall Street Journal
that someone reads to her almost every day. She can read it
herself, but tends to lose concentration. While being read to
it's obvious she is drinking it all in and has even picked up a
pen as if to write, but she hasn't. I would say this was a sign
she might be ready, or want to break out, but this has been going
on for 6 or more years. She always sits with her back to the
wall, and if you approach her from behind she reacts violently,
covering up and screaming, putting herself into a fetal ball.
Everyone in her "hive" is aware of this and avoids approaching
her this way. At her most lucid we've tried to reassure her
enough to talk us through her fears, even adding relaxant drugs.
She seems ready to open up, but never graduates to the next
level." Abby Strong finished with an obvious sense of
frustration.

"Dr. Strong, . . er . . . umm, Abby, we have information that may
pop that black balloon." Scott said.

"We have to very careful!" Abby scolded, "We don't want to pop
the balloon. We want to slowly deflate it. Please understand the
reason for the analogy. We think she sees her entire world from
around this "black balloon" and exposing everything at once could
bring her back to when she first came to us."

"Our daughter was in one of the Trade Center Towers when they
were hit on 911. She barely survived her escape and was nearly
hit by several falling bodies of people who jumped rather than
face certain other fates. She was half dragged, half-stumbled for
16 blocks to the Holland Tunnel where she was given to a stranded
ambulance crew. It's a long harrowing story."Betty said to the
speaker phone in a near pleading manner.

There was long silence on the other end of the line while Shelly
Peters hung her head to hide the embarrassment and tears she felt
for the whole situation.

"THERE IS NOTHING IN ANY HISTORY OF SUE THAT SAYS ANY OF THAT!"
Abby shouted defensively.

"We wouldn't have known much of that story, except the fact that
she survived the attack. THAT should have been gleaned from the
paramedic's notes. A lot of this was new information that came to
light recently. It was never in the notes the paramedics took
when they brought her in here that day because they didn't have
the deep details. . . . . and here real name is Selena Hanson
Johnson." Shelly said almost in a surrendered tone, knowing how
wrong it was to have this ball dropped and to know her hospital
had been part of it.

"Let me talk with our other therapists and doctors here and give
me contact information for you, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson. We need to
set out a plan for Sue, . . er . . Ms Johnson. I must tell you to
go to where you can collect personal items of hers, including
some pictures maybe. Let me meet with our people and see how we
might handle this. . . and Shelly? Let me email you a photo of
our Sue Johnson to confirm we are talking about the same woman."
Abby said as they heard a rustle of papers and the click of
computer keyboards.

In a few minutes Shelly received an email and she clicked on it.
She turned her monitor towards the Hansons to let them see the
photo. Betty Hanson dropped her face to her lap and then nearly
leapt to the arms of her husband. In the photo, her hair was cut
short, her face a bit bloated and blotchy with a scar over her
eye, but the pretty angelic face of Selena jumped from the photo.
She didn't wear the 9 years well, but it was their Selena.

"Our baby is alive!" She sobbed uncontrollably into Scotts
shoulder.

After the emotions of the moment passed Abby added a terse
comment; "Be aware, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, Sue, or Selena may never
progress beyond where she is. She's been in this state for a long
time, even though we've all thought she has been close to a
breakthrough many times. This photo a few years old, I don't
think the scar is as prominent anymore, as I recall."

"We understand." Scott said in a voice broken by emotion.

Chapter 3

By the time Scott and Betty returned home that evening Dr. Avis
"Abby" Strong had been in contact with Dr. JoAnne Culver at the
Edison Mental Studies Clinic and had begun to put together the
puzzle of Joe and Selena Johnson. The fact that Joe failed to
exist from the time shortly after he gave Selena to the
paramedics caused great damage to the hopes of returning their
mental states to a place you might call normal. The paramedic
notes only stated that she was from "the site" and was among the
"exodus" of 1000's of New York and New Jersey people trying to
escape the madness of planes crashing, falling buildings, and the
stench of burned flesh and jet fuel that had been stained to
their memories forever.

An intern with Dr. Culver had combed police reports and found a
report of a man walking on the Skyway, then falling, or
committing suicide by jumping from the Pulaski Skyway. Police
responded but found nothing. Joe may have fallen or jumped into a
drainage "funnel" that drained into a catch basin, thinking it
was a way to the ground once the bridge had cleared the rivers.
It was common for homeless and indigents to try and use this way
to safety. There is no way to the ground without having quite a
fall unless you followed the basin to the river and swam to
shore. This wasn't likely in Joe's condition.

There were 4 other messages on their phone from people who
recognized Joe from the news story and were calling to inform
them. Two were from local girls and friends of Selena, two were
business acquaintances of Joe, one being Chielm Beupour (Slim
Beepo).

On Wednesday morning there would be a meeting of all doctors and
therapists involved to try and assemble one story and plan of
action in hopes of bringing Joe and Selena back to normalcy. The
Hanson's were to be there to provide information as well as
supply pictures and other things from their homes that might jog
a memory, turn a cog, open a synapse, - ANYTHING that might serve
as impedance back to normalcy. They all were warned that 9 years
is a long time to be in an advanced mental state of shock, and
come out normal. There was still a fear that Joe could wake as
someone else, but as days passed that was growing more and more
unlikely, but a shock over the condition of Selena might throw
him backwards as well.

The thought of another day of traveling in the car back and forth
to New Jersey prompted Scott and Betty to pack suitcases for a
longer stay. They also filled boxes with photos and items that
both Joe and Selena would find familiar in an effort to help them
remember.

The Wednesday meeting was taking place at a conference hall on
the campus of The Edison Mental Studies Clinic. A large group of
Doctors, therapists, aides and anyone familiar with both Joe and
Selena were to be present. When the Hansons arrived Dr. Culver
was already there to meet them and she wanted to brief them on
Joe and his progress.

"Joe appears to be on a positive path back to normalcy. He's a
very intelligent man, but even so, trying to cope with life that
has passed 9 whole years in what seemed an instant is taking a
toll on him. We encourage him to rest often and give him light
sedatives to help him sleep. These are the only medications he
has been on for the last 48 hours and he shows no signs of any
problems. We haven't told him yet, but we want him to stay here
until Monday. He'll be told during an exercise session he's
having right now. We think he needs to see a little more of the 9
years he missed and understand the changes. We haven't told him
you found his wife and this information should be kept from him
at this point. Finding out just what he thinks has happened to
her would help us a great deal. If we have a baseline to deal
with we can better detail a plan to feed him the real
information. Your promise to come and get him in "four days,
tops" will be easier to break if you still have no information of
your daughter. We don't think you should see him in person
either; he may make a scene where we have to medicate him
further. We'll call him later today and you'll talk to him about
a Monday release, OK?" Dr. Culver explained.

"You're obviously the professional here, but I would like to see
him, even if through one way glass. Would that be OK?" Betty
Hanson asked.

"Certainly, we can arrange that. Would watching his reaction to
your call help? I know with everything that has happened you both
have trust issues and I can't blame you for that. Be assured, our
"study" of Joe is over. We only want him to get back to a normal
life. His many personalities were always a hit here with the
clients and the staff." She said, understanding Betty's
skepticism.

"Now for your daughter, although both clinics differ in how they
deal with her condition, we think we can come up with a good plan
today while talking with all involved, including both of you."
The Doctor assured them.


"You don't think she was treated with heavy drugs, or electric
shock or anything like that do you?" Betty asked with a tear
welling up.

"I would be very surprised. Hampden Behavioral Health shuns those
practices and has had a pretty fair success rate at getting
people who were thought to be "lost" back into society. She is
the longest serving patient there and they haven't given up on
her because she shows so much promise, as they've told me.
Unfortunately, she always hits a wall." She said as she stood up
as a large group began to walk into the conference hall.

After a round of introductions and passing out name tags Doctors
Culver and Strong took charge of the meeting by asking questions
and getting opinions.

"I keep hearing that the subject Selena Johnson shows much
promise. Who here is most qualified to show me this?" Doctor
Culver asked.

A young woman, perhaps mid to late 30's or so, stood and said, "I
believe I can. My name is Phyllis Flowers. My clients call me
Philly. I've been Ms. Johnson's best friend for over 6 years.
With the exception of one day, sometimes two, each week I spend
at least 2 hours with her each day. I read The Wall Street
Journal main pages to her each weekday. She says very little,
only a few words a week to me, but she listens and understands
all I tell her and she answers questions with her eyes and
conveys her feelings through expression. She's very paranoid of
new things around her and gets frantic if someone should sneak up
or startle her from behind. Her whole demeanor changes if this
should happen and our session usually ends. The person I replaced
informed me and I found out early on that she masturbates nearly
every night in her bed. When she was in a room with other clients
she was quiet and discreet, but it was obvious to others in the
room. She has been in her own room for as long as I've been with
her and the night matrons note that they hear her often, not
loudly, but whimpers and swoons are obvious
.
I've asked her numerous times about this and her answer is always
quick and clear, although she leans in to tell me privately, "I
love sex, but only with my husband." This is one of the things
that make me believe there is a way out for her. Most in her
condition have no interest or even thoughts of sex. She won't
write or draw if I give her a pen, but she will pore over a list
of stocks and mark certain ones. They appear to be random but I
know they are ones I mentioned in stories from The Journal that
day. There is a lot going on in there, but she has what we refer
to as a "black balloon syndrome".

A man's hand came up and the lead doctors recognized him.

"Hello, I'm John Buono from Edison here, Uh, do you think the
next time she mentions her husband that you might ask her if she
means Joe, and then ask what happened to him, why isn't she with
him? I would be terribly interested in her answer. I think that
could be a path out."

Dr. Strong spoke loudly from the front of the room, waving a pen
and taking the floor.
"Yes, I think that's a great idea and perhaps prod those memories
right away with some pictures of home, her parents, or even Joe."

Another hand came up and the woman stood without being
recognized. "Florence Lossi, from here at Edison; She may tell
you that Joe is not the husband she is speaking of, it may all be
a fantasy where she thinks the masturbation IS having sex with
her husband."

Philly Flowers jumped out of her chair to defend Selena. "STOP!
You are supposing that she may be bonkers, and I can assure you
that she is NOT. This woman has problems and deep phobias, but
many times in talking to her she has proven to me that she can be
recovered. Her parents are here and don't need to hear this, as
well!  . . . and I HAVE asked her where her husband was and she's
told me that he was coming for her, but not for a long time now.
I can check my notes, but I think it's been at least 4 years
since she answered that question. I did ask her once what his
name was and she got very defensive and simply said "he's mine!"
as if I might try to steal him away. I showed her a picture of my
husband to show her I wouldn't be interested. She turned the
picture over and didn't speak to me for a few days. I didn't know
what to make of it, but I never brought it up again. It was over
the trauma level I'd set for her. Oh, and I'm sorry for using the
term "bonkers". I was obviously upset at the assumption that she
might be damaged that way. I am sure she is NOT!"

The conjecture went on and on for over an hour with doctors
trading theory and supposition on the two patients trying to use
their relationship as a springboard to stable mental health.
Finally it was conceded that with the new information about
Selena, that Joe had provided, Ms. Flowers should try to reach
her once more, but this time using more confrontation to force
her to vocalize her thoughts. She mustn't be as patient with her
and use what she now knew as a lure to bring her out of her own
darkness.

So much positive information was passed around over both patients
that recovery seemed a slam dunk until Florence Lossi stood
again; "I congratulate all of the positive feelings over this
woman, but I think you are all overlooking the fact that she may
have been without oxygen for as much as 10 minutes when she
convulsed and swallowed her tongue. If you read the transcript,
she coded, then the one EMT called the other and he had to return
about 500 yards to save her because of the others inexperience.
How long did he wait until he discovered there was nothing he
could do to help? I hope I am wrong, but I don't think we should
fill her parents with so much hope and optimism." She said
finishing with her hands folded and looking at Betty and Scott.

There was a long silence in the room until Abby Strong and JoAnne
Culver leaned into each other and conferred for a moment and then
nodded to each other, then Dr. Strong spoke.

"These two have beaten impossible odds to be in the position they
are in and I think we owe to each of our jobs to make sure every
effort is exhausted. However, Ms. Lossi's observations are more
than valid. After an ample period of soft therapy we might be
prudent to start more aggressive means to treat brain injury."

"Soft therapy?"  Scott Hanson asked with a tone of hopelessness
in his voice.

"Mr. Hanson, at Hampden we don't use heavy drugs, shock therapy,
electrical stimulation, or any of the treatments you may have
seen in movies on the subject. There has been no reason for us to
think she had a brain injury due to lack of oxygen for an
extended period, but it's possible. It hasn't shown up in any
tests we've done. But, armed with the information we have, if we
cannot break the state she is in, you might want to submit her
for more aggressive means. The life she is leading is not
rewarding to her and she may be suffering mentally within. We
will do everything we know how and I can assure you that she is
not just a patient with us. I hope it is evident that she is a
loved member of our community. When Ms. Flowers says she is Ms.
Johnson's best friend, they are not idle words. You saw how she
jumped to defend her before, and I can testify that the feeling
is heartfelt and mutual. When Philly returns from her day off to
engage Sue, . . er Selena, the hug Ms. Flowers gets is firm and
deep and an obvious relief of any trepidations that she might not
have returned."

Scott nodded and sat down as Betty sobbed lightly while reaching
for Scott's hand. She leaned in to whisper something to him and
he stood again to get the floor back.

"Is there a way we can see her? I know we can't engage her yet,
but if we can just see her, watch her for a few moments. We may
be able to tell you something from her actions. I know it will be
terribly emotional, but please, . . . . we've been through
enough."

Dr. Avis "Abby" Strong was a hardnosed professional all the way,
but Scott's plea melted her all-business attitude and turned her
eyes into filling pools of compassion.

"I can arrange a one-way mirror visit in the next few days. We'll
speak afterwards." She said fighting of emotion.

Dr. Culver stood, knowing she had to change the tempo of the
meeting before emotions took over, and addressed the conference
again.

"Now, of Joe Johnson. Each day he wakes without personality
change is one step further into us believing that he has
recovered from his DFS condition. He knows nothing of the fate of
his wife and is just coming to terms with the 9 years he lost. We
need to establish a baseline for him as well. If we know where he
thinks she might be, if she is alive or not, if she has moved on
or not, then we can judge the shock he may encounter at her
reality. We don't need another blow to slip him back. I think now
is the time to break into study groups, review the photo's and
items the Hansons have brought, the information they can provide
to help these 2 very fortunate souls in our care."

Scott and Betty were overwhelmed with the questions the doctors
and therapist asked as pictures and mementos were passed amongst
them asking for explanations of meanings or identities of photos.
After nearly an hour of note taking and questions the group broke
up agreeing to meet the following Monday to see where each client
stood. It was hoped the Hansons could take Joe with them on that
day, barring complications.

Following the meeting Dr. Culver escorted the Hansons to another
building on the campus to a room where they could see Joe through
a one-way mirror. She went away for about 10 minutes to set up
the call for Betty and Scott. Finally she came back in the room
and Dr. Culver handed Betty a phone and told her, "Joe was just
told he had a phone call and he'll be coming in that room to get
it. Remember, patience, . . . and do not tell him anything of
your daughter except you have not found her yet. He's a little
frustrated that you can't come for him today, but he seems to
have accepted it."

BH: Hello Joe, how are you today? I'll bet you're a little
disappointed you can't leave yet.

JJ: Betty, you promised! Does this have anything to do with
Selena?

BH: No, they told us you should spend a bit more time getting
acclimated to the world changes, and I might agree. They really
know best Joe; don't you consider yourself a bit fragile?

JJ: Fragile is not the word. They say I'm not a patient here
anymore, but I'm still treated like one. I'm very frustrated, and
then when I look in a mirror I see my father.

BH: I understand there's no more therapy, just helping you
understand, but there are still so many questions to be answered
for you.

JJ: Betty, you've avoided any mention of Selena. She's dead isn't
she? SHE'S DEAD!

BH: Joe, do you really think I would hide that from you if I
knew? Remember I've mourned the deaths of both of you for 9 years
and now there's a glimmer of hope she might be alive and that's
keeping me going. If I found out she passed away when I could
have been helping her, you would know. We're researching some
leads about the information you gave them here. You'll know when
I find something.

JJ: I keep thinking she recovered and made a new life, like one
of those people with amnesia. I couldn't bear to find that out.

BH: Joe, be patient and don't let your mind run off like that.
We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise. We love you and want
you back in our world. Just a few more days, OK?

JJ: I don't HAVE to like it to agree to it. Betty. Just find
Selena. If you don't come up with anything I can tell you that I
will comb every lead, every inch of this country until I do.

BH: Joe, you've read about the attacks on the towers, the
recovery efforts and all of that, right? I just want you to know
that they sent us her ring with the inscription and a money clip
she gave you. We thought that's all there was left, it's when we
all but lost hope.

JJ: I didn't know that. It makes things easier to understand.

BH: We'll talk again on Monday and see how it's all going, but
you'll hear from me as soon as I get news on Selena. (choking
back tears) We love you Joe and want you back. Goodbye.

JJ: I love both of you too, and I can't wait to get out and help
you find her. Goodbye.

The Hansons watched Joe hang up the phone and hang his head for a
moment. He was obviously sobbing and his frustration was showing.
He composed himself a bit and stood and knocked on the door to
have the orderly let him out and bring him back to his room.

Betty turned to JoAnne Culver with a worried look.

"I told him in our first visit that they recovered the ring and
the clip. He seemed to have no recollection of that today. Are
you sure he's OK? That just seems like a pivotal fact that shows
why no-one ever questioned their fate, and then he glossed over
that the first time? . . . or did he just forget it? He worries
me." She said with deep concern and trepidation.

"Actually," Dr. Culver answered, "He had no reaction to it the
first time you said it a few days ago, as if he didn't hear it,
or want to hear it. We'll keep an eye on that and test his short
term memory. Besides that, are you convinced he is doing well?
I'm told that the only medication he will be on now is a sleep
relaxer, and that will be voluntary. Now, Dr. Strong wants me to
tell you that you can come to Hampden anytime you wish to see
your daughter. There is a viewing area off the general community
room where she spends a good deal of her time. But, you should
realize this will be very, very, hard on you. She suggests, and I
agree, that you might want to wait until you can actually be with
her. Think about it."

Chapter 4

Thursday morning at the Hampden Behavioral Health Center seemed
like any other morning, but the staff assigned to Sharpe Hive all
had new sets of instructions in their daily mail box for one of
their longest kept clients, Sue Johnson.

"Starting with Thursdays wake up and in all future dealings with
"Sue", please refer to her as "Selena" (sell - E - na).  We've
found this to be her proper given name. Should another client try
to correct you, just tell them that Selena is her proper name.
Don't say "real name", proper name. Be aware to report any
reactions she may have to this to her APN (Advanced Psychiatric
Nurse) Phyllis Flowers."
Clients are not aware that they are under 24 hour camera sweep
surveillance that is designed to protect them from each other and
themselves. Each morning at 8 a.m. a gentle wake-up alarm is
played in their rooms and within a few minutes health
practitioners visit each client to get temperature, blood
pressure and address any reported ailments. Any pills or
injections are administered at the same time. Following their
wake-up each is encouraged to shower and join the rest of the
hive for breakfast. The particular hive Selena was in is made up
of self-sufficient adults who pose no imminent danger to
themselves, but all suffer mental handicaps. She is one of many
there who have no real identity and were taken in by the state to
protect them from themselves and the citizenry. Many of the
studies on patients at Hampden became subjects of thesis' that
served to help the Mental Health community worldwide.

Nurse Practitioner Kim Tucker knocked gently on Selena's and
opened it calling her name.

"Selena? Good Morning!, . . . are we awake yet?" She said as
Selena roused and began to peel back the bedclothes.

"Selena, I have your morning medications. Do you want water or
juice to take them with?" Kim asked.

Selena looked confused and looked back at Kim warily as if
something were suspiciously wrong, even though this was the
morning regimen each and every day. She usually pointed to either
the water bottle or juice box for her preference.

"What's the matter, Selena hon, can't make up your mind? You can
have both." Kim said, knowing that the address was befuddling
her.

Selena kept a wary eye on Kim and reached for a juice box,
pulling up the corner tab to form a spout. She poured it into the
glass on her tray, took the 3 pills, and drank the juice.
When she finished she didn't need to be told to open her mouth
and lift her tongue to show they had went down; another part of
daily routine.

"Selena, we're going to have visitors in the next few days and
flu season is coming. We're doing flu shots today. I need either
your arm or your bottom. Your arm could be sore for a few days,
but it's up to you." Kim asked knowing Selena was able to
understand and make such decisions.

Selena sighed and got to her feet and turned around, pulling up
her night dress to expose her bottom.

"No panties? Selena, were you a naughty girl last night?" Kim
asked with a chuckle as she swabbed a small area with an alcohol
prep pad and quickly gave her the injection.

Selena stood and let the gown fall and she sat back down, only
giving Kim a small smile as an answer to her query.

"It's OK, Selena hon, nothing wrong with that." Kim said trying
to draw her standard answer about masturbation after some
coaching by APN Flowers.

"I like sex, but only with my husband." She predictably said in a
low almost whisper.

"Me too! My husband's name is John, what's your husband's name?"
Kim asked.

For the first time anyone knew of the many times she was asked
this, she sat back and looked off blankly and said "It was Joe."

Kim, knowing this was a breakthrough, stopped her ministrations
and asked, "Where is Joe?"

Selena shook her head and put her face in her hands to cry. It
was one of the first times she had ever shown emotions like this
and Kim was afraid of saying anything wrong, wishing the Advanced
Psychiatric Nurse, Philly Flowers, were there.

"There, there Hon." Kim said giving her a little hug and hand
squeeze, "After breakfast you can talk more with Philly. You take
your shower and come out when you're ready. Breakfast smells good
out there and they'll be serving soon, OK?"

Selena nodded, seeming more lucid than usual, and took the towel
Kim had left for her. She walked to the shower stall with three
quarter safety glass door and hung the towel on the hook. She
waited for Kim to click the door shut and then dropped her
nightgown off her shoulders, went behind the toilet partition and
sat to relieve herself. She opened the shower door, adjusted the
water, and stepped in. She was thinking of Joe and how he loved
to shower with her where they could touch each other's bodies,
rub and pleasure each other. She put her face in the soft spray
and then dropped her head to let it soak her hair. She saw the
thick full bush of pubic hair between her legs and wished it were
gone. Joe would like it that way, all smooth. She ran her fingers
over her soft belly as the spray washed over her head and parted
the mat of hair to find the tender slit and magic button she had
just titillated the night before. She gripped the mass between
her forefinger and thumb and shook it before sliding a finger
under her clit and rubbing vigorously. For the first time in many
years of satisfying herself, she play-acted that her Joe was
actually there, eating her pussy under the shower, licking her
little hiney hole after he had cleaned it with a soapy finger.
"God!" She thought, "How I miss my Joe. I AM Selena, and I miss
my life, my world."

Suddenly her back hunched, her knees bent and wobbled as she
half-bent to direct the spray between her legs as her fingers
massaged her sex. As orgasm overtook her for a fleet moment she
was with Joe, in New York or their upstate home. Life was bliss,
and then moments later, she was back to the confused state where
she was not quite sure what was real, horrified by what real may
be.  Was she dead or alive in Purgatory, or was she in Hell?

She fell back against the wall of the shower and slid down to the
floor. She turned her face up to the spray of the water and cried
as the reality of whatever state she was in, it was without Joe
and she couldn't comprehend why or how.

Ten minutes later she came out of her room dressed in jeans and a
polo top, her wet hair combed back straight. She quietly padded
to the cafeteria room where she tried to slip in unnoticed to the
other few who had gathered to eat.

"Hello Sue", "Good Morning Sue" and other greetings were heard as
she acknowledged none of them with anything more than a look. The
matron on duty came over with a smile and wished her a good
morning as well, putting a menu in front of her.

"Selena, what would you like for breakfast?" She asked.

Before she could point to what she wanted 3 other members of the
hive spoke up, almost in unison. "It's not Selena, it's Sue."

The matron looked up at the group and said, "Her correct name is
Selena, such a pretty name."

The other poor souls looked amongst themselves and repeated,
"Selena, Selena".

Selena never looked up, she pointed to hot cereal and fruit, then
coffee on the menu in front of her.

As was usual, other members of the hive, who spoke and wanted to
be social, spoke to her as if she would engage them, but she only
looked back at them as the only way to acknowledge their words.
Somehow there was a love for each other shared by this exchange.
Selena had seen many come and go from the hive, the latest
edition being mostly intact for at least a year.

After breakfast she guzzled her cooled coffee and went to the
"Living Room", a great room where they all met and talked, played
cards or read. Selena always took a recliner by the picture
window and watched the cars go by on the Interstate some ways
away. She would sit until the coffee did it's work for her.
Probably more by habit than cause and effect, but after 20
minutes she was off to her room for her morning movement. Shortly
she would check the time, as always, for 11 o'clock when Philly
came to visit. As the hands neared 11 she walked to the great
room and watched for the door to open and Philly to walk through.
It brought one of the few smiles she would muster each day.

 Like clockwork the large door clicked loudly and an orderly let
Philly Flowers in and Selena was happy. Philly extended her hand
and Selena stood and they walked arm and arm into a private
office / conference room to talk as always. Philly had The Wall
Street Journal under her arm.

"Selena, I understand you got a little talkative this morning
with Kim." She said as a conversation starter.

Selena smiled and said, "I'm not Sue, I'm Selena."

"Yes, you are! I also understand you lost your underwear in the
bed again. That's OK, it's good to feel pleasure." She said to
prompt her standard answer.

"I like sex, but only with my husband." She said proudly.

"Kim told me that your husband is Joe. Where is Joe?" Philly
asked.

Selena's eyes welled up with tears and she turned away from her
friend and therapist. She got up to go to the door but it was
locked.

"No Selena! We're going to face some of these things now that we
know who you are. Do you have any idea how long you've been
here?" She asked as she put one firm hand on her shoulder and the
other under her elbow and walked her to her chair.

Selena wiped tears from her eyes and sat looking forlorn.

"Selena, I'm your friend, you know that. Yes, I'm the doctor who
comes and talks to you and tries to make you feel better, but I'm
also trying to help you. I stayed with you when you had woman
problems and talked you through medical tests when you were
afraid and we had to leave here. I care about you, but now that I
know some things about you I can help you more than you can
imagine. But you have to trust me. I know you don't trust many,
but you HAVE to trust me." Philly said as she held her hand and
handed her a tissue.

As she blew her nose and wiped her eyes she looked up and finally
answered Philly's question, "3006 days here, 48 days at the big
brick building, 82 days in the white room, and 9 days at the
ambulance hospital. Where is he? He must be dead, he gave me up
when he couldn't carry me, and he ran away from the war. I saw
him disappear with his legs all broken up and I died! I woke up
in here in purgatory but it was better than the war. He said he'd
find me but he lied, he never even looked. I think I killed him."
She said breaking down and blubbering crying and slipping to the
floor burying her head in her hands as she crouched into a ball
on her knees.

Philly let her cry it out for a few minutes and then knelt beside
her and began to rub the back of her neck.

"Selena, there are so many answers to questions I have for you,
but first I have to make you understand some things. Nothing is
as bad as you think. You didn't do anything to hurt Joe and
neither you nor he died. How do you think we found all these
things about you? I'm going to put my chair beside the sofa and I
want you to come and lie down there when you're ready to talk to
me. You have to open up and I will give you answers and make you
understand things. You know I always try to make you happy and
I'm still going to read you the Wall Street. But Selena has to do
some things for herself, like gather her wits and come and lay
down so we can talk and face some things. You're a very smart
woman and I'm going to help you, but you have to help yourself
first by facing up and not hiding your head. I'll sit in the
chair and wait for you." Philly said firmly, but Selena could
tell she cared deeply about her as a friend, even in her tone.

Selena sat up on her knees after a minute or two and wiped tears
away. She looked to Philly and then to the floor, embarrassed
about the crying. She pulled herself to her feet and went to the
sofa and lay down and looked at Philly. Philly smiled to her and
Selena, although embarrassed by her bawling, smiled back.

"OK, let's talk and iron a few things out. Do you know where you
are?" She asked bluntly.

Selena's eyes welled up again and she went to get up but Philly
grabbed her and pushed her hard and violently back into the sofa.

"STOP  RUNNING  AWAY  FROM  THINGS !" She shouted at her as she
stood over her.

Selena looked up with her eyes full of tears and barely able to
speak but tried to through a flood of tears, mucus, and emotion.
"I don't even know if I'm dead or alive!" Selena said almost
gurgling the words.

Philly Flowers felt so much compassion for the woman she had been
trying to reach for so long that she couldn't help falling to her
knees beside the sofa and hugging her friend. Her own mind raced
as she considered the prospect that this was the first roadblock
she had to toss aside to begin to reach Selena.

"Oh, Selena! If you were dead, where would we be now and how did
you get here?" She asked knowing she had stepped inside Selena's
world.

"I remember in Sister Clements class studying about purgatory
where God kept the souls not ready for heaven. I got here when I
died after Joe left me behind. I was crying and I choked, I
couldn't breathe, and then . . . . . nothing. Then angels checked
me over and sent me to hell, but just before I went I saw the
doctor from the ambulance. He must have died too, maybe hit by
falling people from the war. But after I saw him they brought me
here. He must have told God I was worth saving." Selena told her
in a choppy whisper as Philly held her hand and stroked her
cheek. "Philly? Are you the angel who tells God who should go to
heaven? I overhear you talking sometimes and I can read lips
sometimes. You always talk about saving me."

"But what if you're alive? You said you didn't know if you were
dead or alive."

"If I'm alive, I'm in some asylum where they keep the people that
went crazy from the war. People who saw bodies fall from the sky
and smash in front of them. We wait for someone to come get us,
but no one ever came for me. It's so confusing. Is the war still
on?" She asked looking more confused than ever.

"No. There was no war here, just that one day of terror attacks.
. . . . . and you're not dead or crazy either, Selena. You are so
alive and have so many people who want to help you, but you never
spoke." Philly told her.

Then Selena surprised her by speaking coherently and in great
detail about her life at Hampden, "On day 2687 I first realized I
might not be dead. It was the day we left here to go to the
OB/GYN. You held my hand all the way but I saw things like they
were, much like it used to be. I didn't think purgatory would be
like that and I might be alive, and crazy. When I woke up after
the procedure I talked aloud to myself, heard my voice, but I
never knew what to say, what to ask! I just knew I was there
before, after the white room for a big operation. I THOUGHT THAT
TIME IT WAS GOD TAKING OUT MY SOUL!" Selena said as she started
to babble, then cry uncontrollably.

"I must be crazy, my mind is racing . . . I feel like I'm
drowning, I'm so confused!" She said as she began to fidget and
try to pull away from Philly.

Philly took the upper hand on her and pushed her back into the
sofa, laying her body across Selena's shoulders.

"Calm, calm, Selena. Calm, calm. You've learned so much today.
Relax and think of your husband. Relax, calm, relax, calm."
Philly said until Selena stopped fighting.

Once she seemed calm for a moment she reached to her pocket and
took out a prepared syringe of Xanax with a mild sleeping agent.
Curled in an almost fetal ball, her sweat pants had slid down her
bottom a bit in her struggle and Philly saw the opportunity to
inject her. She pushed down her pant a bit more and popped the
cap on the needle, and before Selena could protest, did it.

In moments Selena lost all fight and lay asleep. Philly Flowers
got up into her chair and uncharacteristically cried for a
moment. She was usually good at not getting emotionally involved,
but Selena was different. She had been with her so long and for
now to think she actually thought she was dead and in God's
Purgatory for the bulk of the time she was there made her sad. To
think of the thoughts that she must have had sickened her.

She took out her notes and read all of the transcripts of the
story Joe had told, and then the EMT attendant, Emory Richards,
and began to put the story together, writing her First Impression
Theory, her first step when she thought  she had a break-through.

"In her state on 9/11 she saw Joe limping away from her, not
understanding what had happened (911) and why he felt he had to
leave. She panicked and suddenly couldn't breathe, suffocating,
essentially dying and she probably came to that realization as it
happened. (She swallowed her tongue in a panic fit. She was
revived anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes later) Her next conscious
moments were at Christian Hospital, going through processing and
surgery, bright lights, and moments where being lucid is
impossible. (In surgery they relieved swelling on back of head
resulting from blow in fall and relaxed pressure a broken rib was
putting on her lung) People probably stood around her and talked
about her condition not realizing she was so aware. She was sent
to a clinic (Hackensack Medical, Psychiatric Wing) that really
was for deeply disturbed mental patients and she probably felt
she was sliding down to Hell. There, at one point, she saw Emory
Richards, (the EMT who had saved her in the ambulance) and
coincidentally was transferred to Hampden soon thereafter. (She
connected seeing Emory and the transfer as one begetting the
other) Hampden was a much better fit for the condition she seemed
to have, as she was not violent or seeming to want to hurt
herself. Hampden was routine, day in, and day out, but she
trusted few, afraid someone else may recommend her to be sent
away. She has had other APN's and I'm not sure how they dressed,
but my bright demeanor and always crisp white pants and smock may
have made Selena think I was an angel, (she told me this) the
angel who would decide between heaven and hell.
If she had gotten used to the idea that she was in Purgatory, and
I was an angel, when she had to leave and go to the Women's
Hospital of New Jersey for a D and C and treatment for serious
infection caused by Hydrosalpinx, a condition of her fallopian
tubes, she saw and smelled the outside world and came to a
realization that she WAS indeed, alive. However, thinking she was
alive, she began to rationalize why she was in an institution,
and she came to the belief she was insane. Her mind went around
like a merry-go-round wondering what was truth, what wasn't. She
didn't dare ask her "angel" in fear that she might really be dead
and then be recommended for Hell. Beginning today, she is being
referred to as "Selena" and she seems to be "waking up". In the
past, because of where she thought she might be and didn't know
who held the key to her eternal life, she just didn't speak. Now
that wall seems to be coming down, fast. I will reconvene with
her as soon as possible and review these findings and then
confirm with you. " Signed Phyllis Flowers APN

After writing her impression of the 9 years of Selena's confusion
ultimately caused by the abject horror of the 911 attack and the
horrific escape from the building and being dragged 16 blocks and
through the tunnel, she paused and began to enter her
Professional Conclusion into her laptop. Her conclusion was only
for other Doctors and Therapists eyes.

"From my findings, I conclude that Selena needs to be brought up
to speed on the world, and everything that happened on 9/11. She
should also be schooled on Dissociative Fugue State and then be
told that it is what Joe suffered, but I would withhold his
recovery at this time. It is of my opinion that after she is
shown the photo's her parents have supplied she should be
evaluated once again and if we feel everything is positive, she
should be reunited with her parents as soon as possible. She
needs to have hope reinforced.

We must all keep in mind that she suffered great stress on 9/11
after almost carrying and dragging her husband down some 60 to 70
flights of stairs, and then when she finally got out of the
building onto the terrace where they seemed to be out of danger,
bodies fell and splattered around them, and they then saw the
horrific mess of ones who came down before. Glass and debris fell
from above and it seemed anywhere she turned was unspeakable to
see or fathom. Her spirit gave up, collapsing, sapped of all
strength, and Joe brought himself to his feet, destroyed knees
and all and tried to carry her away down the stairs from the
terrace to a receiving dock that led to the street. He could
barely walk on his own and crumpled under her weight and rolled
to the bottom of the stairs. During this fall she violently
struck her head on a step. He found the strength to pick her up
and half carry; half drag her to some point of safety. However
all of those around him were warning them to run for their lives.
They joined others who helped to carry and drag her. At the point
the first building fell it put everyone into a deeper panic. At
this moment it is believed that clueless rescue trek began.
People just ran away not knowing who or what was attacking. This
is why Joe left Selena and continued on after he got her to
"safety" at the ambulance. He HAD to keep going, as many others
did either until they got to their homes or familiar
surroundings. Many crossed into New Jersey because that was where
home was, others crossed to just get away, away as far as
possible. It is in this time Selena convulsed and swallowed her
tongue, suffocating.

Her mental scars are deep, but I believe she is strong enough to
face them and separate fact from fiction, imagination from
reality. If she is "rewarded" by getting her family back, her
husband back, I believe she can return to a state of total
normalcy. I believe she needs a situation where someone depends
on her, and can prove her worth to herself. Her self-esteem needs
to be rediscovered. She was a very successful woman in the social
and business world, and it was all ripped away in the matter of a
few moments."

Phyllis digitally signed her conclusion and sent it to Abby
Strong, hoping she might get a response soon, or at least before
Selena came around, She wondered if she would continue being as
talkative after waking as she had been in the morning, or if she
would revert back to her former attitude.

Chapter 5

While Philly Flowers did reports and paperwork on her laptop,
Selena Johnson slept calmly after an injection of Xanax and a
sleeping agent. Her mind had been put in the proper position to
dream about her past life and the joys she knew. She wouldn't
remember the dream specifically, but it would fortify her resolve
to face up to this mental monster and defeat it. She would steel
herself to defeat the fear and erase the horrors of the reality
of 9/11.

It had been 4 hours since Philly subdued her and she had finished
her reports on her other patients, eaten the small lunch she had
brought, made a cup of coffee in the Keurig, and freshened up in
the bathroom. She was about to go and stroke Selena's cheek to
begin to rouse her when she heard the mail signal from her
laptop. Her new email was from Abby Strong and she was anxious to
read it.

Phyllis:
I just spent nearly an hour on the phone in conference call with
the group we met with on Wednesday. The tone of your report and
conclusion showed me that you may have a bit too much of an
emotional tie to this patient to give a well thought out response
to some of the questions that might be asked. I am not surprised
or displeased with your emotional tie, as you have been involved
with this patient for over 6 years. Your personal approach with
all of your patients has certainly brought out the best possible
conclusions for any client you have closed out. For that reason,
despite your prejudice to her personally, we take your findings
at your word.
With little dissent this forum has agreed with your diagnosis and
pathway to recovery. I will be the first to admit that if we had
known her connection to the 911 Tower attacks from the start this
may have been an easier case to diagnose and solve. The error in
transposing the EMT notes from that day was a tragic oversight.

We should begin by moving her to another hive to begin an
accelerated transition. If she doesn't immediately respond we
will all be surprised. She seems the perfect candidate.

After dinner this evening we will move her from Sharpe Hive to
Burdette Hive. There she will have access to TV News and more of
a look at the outside world. There are only 4 others in Burdette,
all female. We think it would be best if you facilitated the move
tonight. Be sure she knows it is a move forward.

Tomorrow after breakfast you should accompany her on a one on one
video seminar on 9/11 and help her answer questions and handle
any "bumps" in her road to understanding what happened that day.
Before the day's close, while she is still excited (hopefully)
from learning what the outside world has done over the last 9
years, you should explain about Dissociative Fugue State. When
you think she has grasped that, tell her that is what Joe has
dealt with over the time she has been here. Do not let on that he
seems to have beaten it; she may figure out that it's the reason
why we were able to facilitate her breakthrough. Stay with her
until bedtime and before she retires, let her know that her
parents are excited to see her.  Give her something to help her
get to sleep. Hopefully she will dream and we think she will open
a lot of doors to her former life.

We think, and I think you will concur that, evidenced from past
breakthrough experiences, her brain should flourish during dream
sequences with mostly positive thoughts. We don't expect
nightmares from her experience getting to this juncture, but
thoughts of getting out and back to her life.

If there is any part of our prescription plan you do not agree
with please refer back to me as soon as you can. Be sure you
detail all phases of her recovery in your notes and reports. We
think this will be just another example of the brain healing
itself without the use of harsh drugs and electronic therapies.

Dr. Avis Strong PHD, MD, Psy.D, M.S.

Philly smiled and sighed in relief that she was taken at her word
about Selena. She couldn't wait to start her on the road out of
Hampden. No sooner had she thought of her that she began to stir.
She heard her moan and shift her legs. She would still be a
little dopey but naturally you fight that off as you try to wake,
similar to post surgical "hangover".

"Selena, Selena, are you OK? Wake up and sit up so can talk
more." She said as she rubbed her cheek to rouse her.

"Ohh, you put me out! You hurt me with the needle!" She
immediately protested, already talkative.

"Selena, you were overwhelmed with things happening around you
and I thought it best you calm down. I'm sorry if I stuck you too
hard. I just didn't want you to hurt yourself. Now sit up so we
can talk more. You've said more today than in all the years I've
been with you." Philly said as Selena sat up and Philly pulled
her chair close so they could be face to face.

"I'm feeling more alive, and I've got a sore butt to prove it."
She said rubbing her upper buttock.

"See? You are alive! You're so alive Selena. You aren't dead or
in Purgatory, you are Selena Johnson, a very pretty young woman
who has so much to live for. We still have a few walls to knock
down but, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I think so, but I have so many questions. I . . . ." She
started to say.

"Wait, let me begin to fill you in on a lot of things and you can
ask questions later unless there is anything that is just eating
at you." Philly said knowing there might be a distraction she
cannot avoid.

"Is my husband dead, or moved on to someone else?" She asked with
a brave face, knowing she might have to fight off tears.

"No, he is not dead, nor has he moved on. Let that answer suffice
for now until we begin to fill in blanks. Be brave and trust me."
Philly said with a hopeful smile on her face that Selena answered
with a smile herself.

"OK, I trust you. Now, one more question. Are my Mom and Dad
still alive?"

"Yes, they are. Their search for you brought all this about."

Selena lit up like a Christmas tree with a smile and deep
relieved sigh.

Philly opened her brief case and took out an envelope of photos.
She pulled the coffee table behind her over and began to lay them
out, one by one.
They were pictures of, in order;
Her parent's home, her room, her parents, Joe's home, Joe, Joe
and her together, she and her colleagues at Wall Street Global.

Selena stared at the photos and then picked up the picture of Joe
and ran her hand over it and then kissed it, crying, then picking
up the parents photo and clutching both of them to her heart. She
cried hard, happy, tears for a few minutes and then calmed down
with no words, no prodding from Philly.

"See? I told you could trust me. Now let me tell you what we are
going to do. I'm going to move you to a smaller group, one where
you can see television and learn what has been going on in the
world. We are going to talk long and hard about the events that
resulted in being brought here. We refer to that as 911. You
refer to that as "the war", and it was a war in the most direct
sense. We were attacked, but not since that day. You were at the
epicenter of it all. This is what you have to deal with to
understand everything that brought you here. The sooner you come
to grips with all of that, the sooner we can move on. Now I know
you're all excited by everything happening, and have much
anticipation. But you've been here almost 9 years; I must ask you
to be a bit patient while we get you up to speed. OK?" Philly
asked her, hoping she might understand the reasoning.

"OK, but can I keep the pictures?" She asked

"Of course, you just have to understand that we may have to make
things happen slowly for you, right now. Remember before, when
you were overwhelmed? We don't want that again. If all goes well
we can get you home soon." Philly said reaching to hold and
squeeze her hands.

In Selena's mind she well understood what Philly meant. Her panic
attack of earlier had put her on the edge and until she put all
the pieces of the puzzle together she would heed Philly's words.
It was, however, hard to keep from being too excited about her
parents and now knowing Joe was alive. She felt more alive and in
control already and suddenly felt there was a way out of all the
hopelessness she had felt for so long.

Philly stood and opened the door and showed Selena the way out
and the two of them went arm and arm up the hallway smiling.

"Do you want to sit in the social area with everyone else, or do
you want to go to your room?" Philly asked.

Selena clutched the pictures to her chest and said "I would like
to go to my room. Do I need to pack anything up?"

"No, they'll move the furniture to your new room and transfer the
closet rod as well. They'll pick up your bathroom things too, all
while you go out for dinner, I'll be in to help you say goodbye
to everyone. The move will be made then. After dinner you'll
leave with me, OK?" Philly said as they got to her door and
stepped in.

"You'll have dinner in a little more than an hour. I'll be in the
building if you need me, ask an orderly to page me. I'll help you
get settled with your move and introduce you to your new group."
She told her before leaving her.

Selena sat and stared at the pictures letting memories flow and
remembering so much she was almost overwhelmed. Instead of
panicking, she put the pictures aside and sat with her eyes
closed taking deep breaths. She was so proud of herself, fighting
off inner fears. The thought of going home scared her just a few
hours ago, now she envisioned herself walking into the rear door
and up the stairs to the kitchen, like she always did. Things
were becoming clearer, but she still feared the times when she
closed her eyes and saw bodies smashing to the ground. Could she
get out and go home if that stayed with her?

As soon as Philly left the Sharpe Hive and was walking across the
campus to her office she got a text message from Abby Strong.
"Please come to my office ASAP. Selena's parents are here."

Philly knew it was much too soon for Selena to see them, too many
blanks to fill in before that happened, but she knew they were
determined to see her, if only through one way glass.

When she opened the door to Dr. Strong's office Betty Hanson
stood and greeted her by saying "I understand our baby is
beginning to get clearer, can you tell me how she is doing?"

"Please sit and I'll talk to you about Selena. She is progressing
very fast, going from a very few words to quite talkative in just
a few hours. I am a little worried about mental stress, but a
large yoke was lifted from her this morning. It seems the time
she spent here she thought she was dead and in Purgatory, like
she was taught in the Catholic School by the nuns. Now, you may
think that silly, but she knew she was dying when she lost the
ability to breathe and when she came around she assumed she was
on the other side. Even me, all dressed in white as I always am,
she thought I was an angel. This brought about a lot of her fears
that she might be sent to hell. This morning as everything was
coming at her I had to subdue her with an injection, but she came
around talkative again and she knows you've been looking for her.
You shouldn't meet face to face quite yet, we want her to know of
Joe and how he is doing first, she needs to understand 9/11 and
put those fears out of her head. I think there is something in
her mind that tells her the falling bodies and glass were attacks
on her or Joe. She needs to come to the understanding that these
people chose a quick form of death rather than burn and suffer,
they weren't after her. This is what we will tackle in the next
day or two. Now I know you want to see her and during dinner hour
she will be where she can be viewed. Remember, this will be VERY
emotional, be sure YOU are prepared." She warned.

"I've tried to talk her out of it, even though I want to see her
so much myself. But we decided it will be good for us, lowering
some of the stress and anticipation this has all brought on."
Scott said.

The four of them got up and followed Abby Strong back across the
campus to one of the "hives" buildings where she unlocked the
door and brought them through a circular hall way that allowed
access to all four "hives" in the building. She came to an
unmarked door and opened it and all four went in. There was a
four foot by 18 inch one way window that allowed viewing in one
of the social rooms where meals were served. Kitchen staff was
already setting places for the 12 clients, some of whom were
milling close-by.

"If you were expecting something like you've seen in movies, it's
not here. The clients in this section are our most extreme. We
don't experiment on them; we study them and try to help them
recover. You rarely see conflicts between clients. We don't take
on violent cases, just those who are confused by reality and
unable to accept life at face value. We try to get them into a
process where they see a routine for each day and have one on one
with therapists who try to answer the questions they have and
encourage them to understand their lives and move on. If we knew
who Selena's family was we would have asked she be placed in
different care long ago had she not responded. Clearly, now we
see she needed reinforcement of the fact she was alive and people
loved her. Matrons and orderlies are beginning to ask the clients
in for dinner, Selena should be coming in a moment." Dr. Strong
told them as they settled into their seats and saw the tables
being set.

Suddenly Scott Hansons face turned bright red and broke into a
big smile as tears began streaming down his face. He saw Selena
in the hallway entrance to the room. Betty saw his reaction and
snapped her eyes to her daughter and fell to her knees at the
window crying.

Selena was dressed in jeans and a long polo type shirt. Her hair
was combed back straight and instead of the dour look they had
seen in her picture, she looked bright and hopeful.

"God, for the first time she looks confident." Philly said as she
took Betty's hand. "She really wants to work her way home."

Scott and Betty could do nothing but cry, although they were
happy tears.

Betty spoke through her tears, "Her face looks a little fatter,
and she was always very thin, a figure most girls would kill for.
Her hair was a bit lighter than that dirty blonde, but with lots
and lots of golden highlights, long and curly, so beautiful. But
she's my baby out there. I just can't wait to hold her, kiss her,
tell her how much I love and missed her."

 Scott couldn't talk, he just nodded his head and hugged Betty's
arm. Finally he swallowed hard and looked to Philly. "She and
Joe, they're so perfect for each other, that's going to be quite
the reunion. I can't wait to see how happy she'll be."

They watched her eat and even talk a bit to the woman beside her,
something she had never done before. She smiled and happily ate
as Philly got up and told them, "I'm going to go down and tell
them that Selena will be leaving the group so she can say her
goodbyes to them. Her things are being moved to a new room in a
different part of the building as we speak."


In another clinic in New Jersey Joe Johnson looked impatiently
out the window as an aide came into get his vitals.

"I thought I wasn't a patient anymore. Why do they need these?"
He barked, letting his feelings overflow.

"Joe, I just work here, please co-operate. Dinner is almost out
there, or do you want it in here. I used to eat in here with you
sometimes." Jenna Wilson said with a cute little smile.

"You did? Who was I then?" Joe asked with a grin, knowing he went
through a lot of changes.

"You were Paul then, and not as ornery as you are now." She said
pouting. "As a matter of fact, you were downright charming." She
finished with a blush.

"How long was I this Paul character?" Joe asked.

"Only a few days, but he broke a few hearts. He was handsome AND
charming. Not handsome and ornery. He was a flirt, trying to get
the girls to visit him at night."

"Did he succeed?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"I think a few times." Jenna answered blushing.

"I think you know firsthand!" Joe said with a chuckle.

"It's not very flattering to a woman to have her lover forget
their intimacies. I know it's not your fault, but . . . ." She
said, not trying to be insulted.

"At least I know Paul had good taste, Ms. Wilson. You're very
attractive." Joe said turning on the charm.

"Not attractive enough to keep my husband away from the younger
girls. That's why I got rid of him." She said, her mood changing
quickly.

"Well, he was a fool. A woman with your looks, I bet, knows your
way around, as well." Joe said hoping she took that as a
compliment.

"Thank you, I think." She said " . . . and you want your dinner
here or?"

"Please in here. They've given me some reading and I don't need
the distractions out there." Joe said briskly.

"If you want to wait about 20 minutes, I could come in with both
our dinners and I could distract you instead of them." She said
with a seductive smile.

"Mrs. Robinson, I think you're trying to seduce me." Joe said
using the quote from "The Graduate" After a chuckle to himself he
looked at her seriously, "I'm flattered that you might want to
join me, but I am married and would hate myself when I'm reunited
with her."

"You have more character than my husband ever had. Umm, if it
means anything, I only asked for seconds because it was so good
the first time around." She said smiling as she left the room to
get his dinner tray.

She came back right away with a tray of food and put it on his
desk and gave him a wink.

Jenna Wilson remembered quite well her tryst with "Paul", a DFS
patient in her wing. During Prime Time vacation months when the
staff reached certain low levels to accommodate absences they
worked "20 hour pay shifts". Your shift was from 4 pm until
Midnight, then you slept "on call" on premises during an 8 hour
break, and you were paid for 4 of those hours. Then you worked 8
am until 4 pm and were then off for 24 hours, beginning the same
cycle again.

The staff room was right across from "Paul" and after significant
flirting by each of them, he invited her to "come by and tuck me
in." After finishing her shift at midnight and knowing all was
quiet, she opened his door. She listened for a moment and decided
he was asleep and she was afraid he may wake as someone else. She
let the door close slowly until she heard, "Psst, I'm here. Did
you chicken out, or are you just a tease?"

She knew horsing around with a client could get her fired, but he
was in a room without camera's and maybe he would be someone else
tomorrow, she slipped back in and went to sit beside his bed.

"Oh, I'm not a tease, I just wonder if you're all the man you try
to sell to the nurses." Jenna said, challenging him.

"There's only one way to find out." He retorted.

"You're not shy are you?" She determined aloud as she put her
hand under the sheet and reached for his package to find he was
wearing nothing under the covers.

"Wow, neither are you!" He said as he felt one of her hands
squeeze his cock.

"Didn't you ask me to come tuck you in?" She asked with a wry
smile he could barely see in the ambient light from the outside.

"Ummm, I think I may have said suck me off." He said laughing.

Her hand gripped his cock tightly as she half stood and spoke
directly to his face.
"That isn't going to happen. I don't like cum in my mouth, I
prefer it sprayed on my belly or on my ass, . . . .and NEVER in
my ass. That spot is off limits. Do we have an understanding?

For the first time since she came in he got serious, "We're both
on the same page, I want us both to have a good time and walk
away happy."

"OK," She said as she let go of his cock and pulled back the
sheet, re-gripped his cock and pointed it toward her mouth as she
bent over him.

"Ooooooh, if you're doing that to get me hard, you're done. But
if you just like sucking it, I have all night. Ahhhhh." He said
as she giggled a bit around the fat hard penis in her mouth.

"Paul" managed to get a hand under her white smock and squeeze
her breasts through the heavy tee she wore, there was no bra.

Her breasts were nicely sized and round, but very fleshy after
the 2 children she had. Her youthful firmness may have been gone,
but the sensitivity wasn't as she moaned into his dick as he
manipulated her nipples.

He pulled the hand from her breasts and boldly grabbed at her
crotch through her pants prompting her to stand up and wordlessly
tear off her clothes. She hadn't had sex for so long, she could
wait no more. If he had any other foreplay plans she scuttled
them by climbing on to him and the bed, straddling him. She
reached under herself and placed the tip of his cock to her
dripping pussy and sat back.

"God, you're so fuckin fat, you fill me right up. Hold on tight
while I show you what I like." She said as she raised her knees
and pressed her fists into the slot his armpits made. Pressing
her feet hard into the mattress, the only part of her connected
to the bed were her fists and feet and only her pussy touched
him. Like a mechanical athlete she thrust her pussy up and down
his cock like a piston in an engine. She came quickly and hard,
biting her tongue to avoid making too much noise. She fell on him
puffing and resting herself with his cock deep in her.

"More fuckee please," She whispered to him.

He gripped her around her back and tried to roll over with her,
but the bed was too small, so he had to pull out and let her lay
down, spread eagle, for him. He moved over her and stabbed her
hard with his cock and began to fuck her in earnest. She pulled
up a corner of the pillow to bite and hold her whoops of joy as
he pounded her. Suddenly he stopped and sat back on his haunches.

"Gotta hold up so I don't cum yet, roll over." He ordered her as
she did as he bid.

He ran his cockhead over the crease of her ass from the base of
her spine, over her asshole, and down through the soaking lips of
her pussy before he pushed the head in and sunk to the hilt in
her. He slowly pumped her as his hands squeezed the perfect
globes of her ass.

"This ass is the constant tease as you walk around here all day.
I can never wait until you turn around so I can watch it pump and
sway your walk away." He whispered as she was trying to get him
to pump hard for another orgasm, but he made her wait as it built
slowly for her.

He knew what he was doing as she trembled and her breath broke on
the edge of her climax and then he started slamming her again.
She came hard and fast into the pillow she thrust her face into
it. Suddenly she felt him pull out and press his balls into her
crease just before a long volley of cum shot to her neck and then
splashed on her back and bottom.

He growled under his breath as he brought his hand to stroke
another shot over the moon of her ass and then in another moment
he dropped back to sit on his legs and wait for his breathing to
return to normal.

Jenna fell forward, wishing she could go to sleep right there,
but she had pressed her luck enough tonight.

"Take my t-shirt and wipe the cum off my back. I've got to get
out of here before we might be caught. YOU are a GREAT fuck!" She
said as he chuckled and got up and did as she wished, wiping and
turning the shirt to be sure she was cleaned off.

When he was done she found her panties and slipped into them. She
shook out the white pants and jumped into them before pulling on
her smock and buttoning it up all the way to hide the fact she
had nothing else on underneath. She rolled her tee and told him
to put on something before getting back in bed. She slipped out
the door and put her tee in her hamper and strolled the hallway
to be sure all was calm. It was, and she went to bed listening to
the monitor for trouble. She had no trouble falling asleep.

After she finished the shift and came back a day later "Paul" was
another personality. His new personality did attempt to flirt,
but she resisted any urges, thankful for her good luck not being
found out.

Joe Johnson was a day from being released and telling his doctors
he couldn't wait to get back out into the real world and explore
the things he missed for the past nine years, as well as find his
wife. As he sat reading in his room on the Sunday before his
Monday release, Dr. JoAnne Culver knocked on his door.

"Can we talk Joe? I think I should make you aware of a few
things." She said coming in and taking a seat beside him.

"Don't tell me you're not going to release me again, I . . . ."
He started to say when she patted his hand and shook her head
NO."

"Joe, you'll be free to go, but there will be restrictions you
should know about. You're going to be under the Custodial Care of
the Hansons for at least two weeks. They will supervise your day
to day life as you work your way into society." She began before
Joe protested.

"I DON'T need to be watched or locked up, the only thing driving
me crazy is being here and not being able to find my wife." Joe
said indignantly.

"Now Joe, I want you to understand this, don't let your bold
determination stunt the facts. Now LISTEN. As far as the world
thinks, you no longer exist. You have no ID, no drivers license,
no bank accounts, no money, nothing. You will receive 5 notarized
letters from the State of New Jersey stating your situation.
These will assist you in getting established again. Should you
need more, save one to bring to any state attorney general office
and they should provide you with others. But don't do this until
you have established picture ID from New York, the deed back on
your house, proving residence, and at least one bank account. We
both assume that the Hansons will assist you in the legal
transfer of personal possessions. I can tell you that your
finances alone will take a few good lawyers and a lot of red tape
to get back to how they were. I don't want you to think you are
walking out of here and everything will be as it was. It is going
to be very frustrating at times. Don't end up back in the
hospital because you fought the system over something neither you
or they had any control of. I know your parents and family are
gone. I want you to think of yourself as the Hansons own son and
listen and do as they ask until things get back to whatever
normalcy you can achieve. This is not going to be easy. Do you
understand me?" Dr. Culver told him firmly.

Joe sighed deeply and hung his head for a minute looking up at
Dr. Culver with a face of resignation.

"Yes, I understand. I knew there would be hassles, but you bring
to light the most common and obvious ones, and I never even let
them cross my mind. I don't even have a driver's license. I won't
fight the system. I really just want to find my wife and see if
she still wants me, loves me, . . . . . ." He said trailing off
into tears as he turned his head to hide them.

Chapter 6

Dr. Culver had left Joe with a reassuring grip on his shoulder
saying "I think you'll be fine.", but she wanted to get to a
phone as soon as possible. Now was the time for the Hansons to
tell Joe they had found Selena. He needed that weight taken from
him.

She called their cell as they woke the morning after seeing
Selena.

"Good Morning Mrs. Hanson, how are you this morning?" Dr. Culver
said hoping she hadn't wakened them.

"I saw my daughter for the first time in 9 years yesterday
afternoon and I feel fantastic!" She answered jubilantly.

"I think that's news you need to share with Joe as soon as
possible. Tell him just what you know, that she is alive and
progressing now that he has provided keys to some of her
problems. Stress that you have not been able to see her face to
face, but so far so good. Dr. Strong seems quite encouraged. Now,
there are a lot of things we need to go over with Joe's release
to your care, so be here early Monday." Culver said.

"Can we come over and do it in person, . . . today?" Betty asked.

"I know you want to share the emotion of it, so yes, please come
today. Joe could use the pick me up. Stress that he may not be
able to physically be with her for a while, maybe a couple weeks,
depending on how she progresses." Dr. Culver warned.

At about the same time Saturday morning Selena was waking up in
her new room. Nurse Practitioner Kim Tucker was her wake nurse
again and she was greeted by a different smiling Selena today.

"Well, Hello Sunshine! Where does that smile come from?" Kim
asked as she came in and opened the skylight. "It's like a Spring
day outside, maybe you can get out for a walk today. Now let's go
over the checklist before we talk. You know the routine, same as
your other room;

You slept well?
All through the night?
Any night sweats?
Bowel movement yesterday?
Female discharge?
Any discomfort?

"A big yes to that one, I got a sore butt where Philly gave me a
shot yesterday." Selena said popping up from bed and turning
around to pull up her night dress and show her.

"You DO have a nasty bruise there. Show it to her later. . . and
no panties again, I see." Kim said smiling to her.

Selena blushed and said, "They're in the bed somewhere."


"It sounds like I have a full day with Philly, but a walk outside
sounds great. Do you think you can help me do something with my
hair? I hate this rat's nest I have! Oh, and one more thing, the
curtains and carpet match, but I would love to take out the
carpet." She said with a sly grin.

"My, aren't WE making plans for an escape! Is the first eligible
man you see going to get the proposition of a lifetime?" Kim said
as she poured a juice and prepared her pill cup.
"No, somewhere out there my husband HAS to be looking for me.
When he does we're going to lock ourselves in a room for 3 days."
Selena said with a wide grin.

"Selena honey, remember things change in 9 years. Keep your hopes
up, but don't set yourself up for a disappointment." She said
handing her the pill cup and juice.

"In my dreams last night I remembered one thing that can't
change. God made us for each other and changed our lives to be
with each other. I am very sure of that." Selena said gulping
down her pills.

"I'll put in a request for a stylist to come up, but on the other
thing, don't get mad, and just understand they won't give you
scissors or a razor. Talk to Philly, maybe she and I can help you
there, maybe get you a wax." Kim said as she laid out towels for
her shower.

"No, I don't wax; I shave and keep it smooth with creams. I'll
talk to Philly. Thanks Kim." Selena said, sure of herself.

"The table is set for breakfast, so don't be long. They set up an
omelet station for you ladies today." Kim said as she picked up a
bit and left Selena on her own.

Kim Tucker went directly to a phone and called Philly Flowers.

"What did you do to Selena? She is a different woman this
morning! I'm talking 180 degree turnaround. Very talkative
instead of that foggy nod and head shake routine, asked me for a
hair stylist, and even wants the stuff to give her pubic area a
shave." Kim reported.

"She's been behind that wall and needed just a little of the
right prodding to come out, do you believe it? I'll go over her
case in re-caps once she's discharged, and I think she'll be out
of here in less than a week." Philly told her.

"I noticed her only pills were vitamins this morning, is that
right?" Kim wondered.

"So far, yes. I'm going to get with her right after breakfast and
lay some heavy things on her and I'll see how she handles it.
Breaking her code seemed pretty easy once we started calling her
by name. I can't tell you about her specifically, but when I do
patient recaps you'll know who she is." She said confidently

The Selena Johnson that sat conversing with the other three women
in her new "hive" was not even a shadow of the one that left her
former the night before. She was confident and talkative and only
had a problem when an orderly who was coming to pick up trays
came in over her shoulder, causing her to startle and start to
scream, before she caught herself, letting out only a whoop and
almost falling to the floor. Selena apologized profusely and
simply said she was caught off guard. By the time Philly Flowers
came to get Selena, she had heard about the episode and figured
they might address that with other things related to 911.

With Selena seeming more and more "normal" Philly decided to
handle 911 with her "head on". She had the transcript of what Joe
said happened that day and she also had the shot from the hip
account in video that showed the planes hitting, the people
jumping, the buildings falling and the mad rush out of the area.
She began by reading Joe's account and then stopping to pick up
where the 1st jet hit, interspersing the oral account and trying
to keep the video real time to the account.

After seeing the first plane hit in the video, Selena began to
cry, never seeing it before. She wept openly for the duration of
the story, but never lost interest or wanted to turn away. She
took it bravely. The hardest part was watching the bodies fall;
hearing the eerie whistle they made as they broke through the air
before impact. Selena became to understand that they weren't
"attacks" on her and that those who chose to jump chose to die in
a quicker, more dignified way than inevitable incineration.
Selena wept hard as she began to understand it all. But, she
never lost sight of the reality of what she went through.

Philly added as many post scripts as she could about the day, the
nation's reaction, our war on terror, and where we stood at the
moment. She ended by describing DFS (Dissociative Fugue State) to
her and explained that many people who suffered severe shock that
day may have had bouts with it citing the number of people who
were "missing" only to show up 24 and 36 hours later.

"Selena some people have this DFS for long periods of time,
weeks, months, and sometimes years. When they come out of it,
they usually recover with total recall of their life, with only
the DFS days missing." Philly explained as Selena listened
intently.

"Is this what I had? Is that why you're explaining this to me?
Was I another personality for any time? Was . . . . . ." She
asked persistently interested in her own diagnosis until Philly
stopped her.

"No, it was Joe. Joe was a DFS patient." Philly said.

"Oh, NO! MY JOE? Oh my GOD!" She said loudly holding her head
before looking up wide eyed. "Where can I see him, and let me
help him?" She asked.

"Calm down a bit Selena. It seems Joe has awoken from his fugue
state and it appears he is back to normal. He is being observed
to be sure there are no long term problems, but for all intents
and purposes, shortly after he left you with the ambulance that
day up until about 2 weeks ago, he measured the passing of one
day. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Philly asked, knowing
Selena was at a doorway where she might panic.

"No, I totally understand. I remember Doc Stevens, back at
PolyTech, gave us an ethics problem dealing with this. Something
about a will, already probated, and the man shows up alive a year
later." Selena answered, apparently totally lucid and in control.

There was a silence between the two before Selena sat back and
smiled. "Oh my God, my parents are totally friggin' rich! We
didn't have time to lay out our wills the night we got married,
it was a quickie for legal purposes, and left everything to them
in case something tragic would happen. We didn't want the
government to get everything, you know, set up scholarships and
endowments and all that for each other and any children we may
have."

At the mention of children Selena's face grew sullen and she sat
back. She seemed to want to remember but couldn't put her finger
on.

"Philly, can I still have kids after those female problems I
had?" She asked.

"It may be hard, but you should be able to conceive. If there are
problems there is always in vitro fertilization. You're still a
young woman; I wouldn't let that worry me." Philly told her.

"It's just Joe had a reversed vasectomy and his chances of
getting enough of the good stuff is reduced." She said and then
she smiled wickedly. "If it means we have to spend weeks at a
time making love, that's OK too!"

Philly felt that, at this point right then, if she released
Selena to the world, she would have no problems. She seemed THAT
normal, that lucid, and not showing any signs the paranoia and
fear she exhibited for 9 years.

"Selena, I made another phone call this morning to explain your
situation to some special friends of yours, the Wall Street
Global Group. They were more than overjoyed to hear that you had
survived after all. I was asked to extend warm wishes from the
entire group." She told her.

"Oh my gosh! Nine years! Did they say who was still there?"
Selena asked with a worried tone.

"I spoke with Deneigh Myersen-Cole and she said that you would be
sad to hear that Charles Ford and Willis Menard had passed away.
"The Five" were now . . . . ." she said as she fumbled her notes,
"John Branniff, J. Trace Fountain, Ross Curran, Chielm Beupour,
who had some sort of acronym or nickname she said you would
recognize," She added as Selena smiled, "and a new member in the
last year, Ms. Jamaica Browne. Deneigh also added that you should
get in touch as soon as you are able." Philly said finishing and
looking to Selena for any reaction.

"Oh, Charlie and Will were such sweet, sweet, smart men. It
really hurts to not have been able to say goodbye to them."
Selena said as tears began to run from her eyes before out and
out crying. "You don't understand the bond we had. We all have
the gift." She said through her tears and broken voice.

"The gift?" Philly asked.

"Oh, I know it sounds pretentious and self-serving, but we all
have a keen sense of numbers and deduction. My old prof from
PolyTech used to say it was "fact-fraction algebra" You put a
fact times another fact over some numero-relevant fact or
situation and we're able to come up with an answer or high
probability result. My Joseph has it as well, so I might also
assume this new Browne person does. Deneigh thinks she has it but
apparently never quite put it all together, I guess, if she is
still answering the phone." Selena said as she composed herself
and then got reflective.

"Deneigh did add a personal thought that she "was still studying
and close to getting her own seat.", she wanted you to know."
Philly said smiling.

"She knows so much about the business and the operation, I just
wonder if she has enough of "the gift"." Selena said, her mind
working hard to put everything back where it should be.

She dried her tears and tried to compose herself and the two sat
quietly as Selena was obviously reflecting. Philly looked at her
and smiled taking her hands in hers and clasping them together.

"I think you've done it! When I look into your face I can see the
curtain has dropped and you're so sure of yourself. I know you
can feel it too, can't you?" Philly asked bringing Selena's hands
to her mouth and kissing them. "Welcome back to the world!"


"Thank you so much for knowing the right buttons to push once you
broke my fear. After I knew I might see Joe again I knew what I
had to do. Once you said "No, he is not dead, nor has he moved
on. Be brave and trust me.", it was cast in stone for me. Not to
sound weird, but I would like to hug you and kiss you for
bringing me back to life!" Selena said looking Philly in the
eyes.

"That's not necessary, but I know how you feel. I feel very close
to you right now, like we've finished a long journey." Philly
said pulling her hands away, almost uncomfortably.

"I understand the feeling. I  . . . . . .  I was with a woman
once and it was for the same feeling. It wasn't for sex it was .
. . . ." Selena began before Philly stopped her with a finger to
her lips.


"I know, I know. I've been there too and we shouldn't talk about
these things. I'm your doctor and . . . you know." Philly
whispered while looking at her knowingly.

Selena only smiled and nodded to the one person who understood
her and made her feel normal after over 9 years.

"OK," Philly said as she stood to end their session, "you are
going to get a complete physical with blood work and everything
tomorrow. You'll have been off all medications for 24 hours soon
and tomorrow we'll see how you're doing.

Sunday night Selena was watched closely to see her reactions to
sleep and waking without any drugs or inducements. She seemed to
have fallen asleep quickly and slept soundly all night getting
almost 10 hours of sleep before she stirred. Any signs of
paranoia or anxiousness were not visible as she seemed to have
adjusted to her former life and its expectations.

Considering the whirlwind of confusion her brain had been put
through, now that things began to line up in the proper order
Selena seemed to have become the well ordered realist that she
had been. Her perspective seemed to be that of getting back on
the horse that threw her. Although her love for Joe consumed her,
she hadn't let her real life fall off the track. She seemed
determined to get back into the financial world and do everything
to get back to where she was, despite any pitfalls her nine year
absence was going to throw at her. As each hour passed since her
"awakening" she grew more and more intact with the world she knew
to be her life. Just 36 hours before the thought of a reunion
with her parents had her hyperventilating. Now she was anxious,
of course, but easily put the event aside to get the sleep she
knew she needed.

Although nothing was made of it, it was noted by her Nurse
Practitioner, Kim Tucker that she hadn't masturbated the night
before, or if she had she kept the fact private. Even just the
day before she was cavalier about her love of the practice, now
she seemed mum on the fact.

APN (Advanced Psychiatric Nurse) Phyllis Flowers had spent the
evening searching textbooks, the internet and disseminating
information with colleagues about Selena, wondering if she too
had suffered from some form of DFS (Dissociative Fugue State).
The way she had woken up was much like Joe had made her think
that, although she was definitely diagnosed as a paranoid
borderline schizophrenic during the most of her stay. She had
actually believed she was stuck in a limbo of sorts waiting to
cross into a heaven or hell that awaited her. Her case was one
for textbooks to study, but for now she just wanted to get Selena
back into the world.

Once Selena was up, showered, and about for the day after her
breakfast, Philly came to visit her and brought with her a
stylist to do her hair.

"Let's go into a private room where she can work while we talk."
As the stylist grabbed a folding chair she set up next to a sofa
in the private meeting room.
Selena was excited and quickly engaged the stylist with questions
as she set up her equipment. Once giving the woman an idea of
what she wanted she set about to cut and style her to Selena's
wishes. While the stylist worked Philly engaged Selena in
conversation.
"Who do you want to look so nice for?" Philly asked.

"I want my Mom and Dad to see me at my best, and then I hope I
can go to see Joe, maybe help him in his recovery. You haven't
said much about him, but just knowing he is alive and hasn't
moved on has made me happy. I know if he sees me it will help
him. Lastly, I want this for me. In all the time I've been here
I've hated what looked back at me in the mirror. Feeling special
is important to me." She told Philly confidently.

"Every reason she gave was a great sign", Philly thought as
Selena told her. "She can walk out of here today!"

"Selena, you know that when you do leave here, your parents will
have to be caretakers for a time. You have no ID, no drivers'
license, and for all intents and purposes, you don't legally
exist. Coping with that will be hard on many levels until you
establish yourself again. You'll have to be patient and dealing
with it will be frustrating. I'll supply you with notarized
letters explaining your situation as mandated by the State of New
Jersey for just this type of situation. They should be accepted
in New York, but they are not readily accepted in every state, do
you understand that?"Philly asked.

"Yes, I'm familiar with the situation, it was something that came
up once at Wall Street Global with an investment folio someone
wanted to rename and reinvest with. We don't actually invest for
people, we advise them, steer them with our best judgment."
Selena said confidently between snips of the scissors.

"You realize you no longer work there, right?  Nurse Flowers
asked to be sure Selena wasn't having a delusion.

"Well, that's for them to decide, not me or you. I'm supposed to
make a five year commitment to them and I fulfilled just a year,
so I owe them four and if they want me to fulfill it, I will."
Selena said without missing a beat.

The small talk continued until the hair dryer came on, making it
impossible to have a conversation. Once the noise died down and
the stylist passed the mirror around Selena's head to show her
how she looked Selena simply bubbled.

"I've put those 9 years to bed, I swear. My hair is a little
darker and my skin doesn't have as much glow as before, but I
feel young and refreshed!"

"You DO look pretty and still quite young, if you're worried how
the 9 years aged you. Remember you weren't in the sun very much
during the time." Philly added.

As they conversed the stylist packed up her things and went about
leaving as Philly and Selena talked. Selena was so happy to just
communicate with someone, she easily engaged Philly with small
talk as well as salting in points of her financial prowess. As
the conversation grew Selena did not see the two people who
entered the room from behind her.

As if on cue Philly said, "Why don't we go get a coffee and
continue this?" as she stood.

Selena stood and turned to see her Mother and Father with tears
streaming down their faces as she leapt into their arms. Few
words were spoken for quite a few moments as the touch of a
mother and father to their sole offspring was the only
communication necessary. Finally Betty Hanson spoke through her
tears.

"We shed so many tears for you, cried, and anguished for so many
years, you are truly a dream come true, a miracle." She said as
she tried to hug her even tighter before Scott Hanson sandwiched
her and wept openly repeating over and over "My baby, my baby,
I've prayed I could hold you again."

There were no real words to display the emotions of the 3 people
who loved each other so deeply, so dearly. The parent/child bond
was never more evident than in the display held so privately
before an embarrassed Philly Flowers, who had shrunk to a corner
and privately cried her own tears of emotion.

Once the initial surge of emotion had passed Philly came up to
the 3 of them, who didn't want to stop holding each other, and
said "Hampden has a suite at the Marriott they want the 3 of you
to go to and use to catch up and re-acquaint your emotions before
you bring Selena home. You can stay there as long as you need."

"Home?" Selena said through a quivering lip as tears began to
freely flow once again. "I can go home?"

"Yes, my dearest Selena, home. My work with you here is through
for now. I want to arrange some visits to help you get back into
the world, but you seem ready to make the step without any
crutch." Philly told her as she reached for her hands.

Selena shunned her hands and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much for all of the understanding, for shaking me
out of my world and back into this one. I remember the moment
when you grabbed me and threw me back from trying to run away.
You finally had the keys and had all the answers then and I just
needed to accept them. Thank you!" Selena said through happy
tears as she hugged Philly.

The two broke their embrace and Selena sat down on the sofa
behind her flanked by Betty and Scott. They all held hands and
began the small talk that would begin the catch up of 9 years.
Betty and Scott took turns taking Selena's hands into theirs as
they talked about the little things that Selena had missed over
the time she was unaware.

During this time Philly had slipped from the room and came back
in without anyone noticing, but she was not alone. Joe Johnson
was using every ounce of strength he had not to run to Selena,
but he relished in seeing her and hearing her voice as she
bubbled with her parents. Tears flowed from his eyes seeing her,
and knowing that she seemed OK since last they were together.

Finally the sniff from one of his tears caught the attention of
the 3 on the sofa and Selena turned to see Joe.

Unintelligible sounds came from her as she filled with emotion,
tears seeming to flow like a faucet turned on and she struggled
to get to her feet and run and jump into his arms in one movement
as he moved towards her. They met just a few feet from where she
was sitting and their arms entwined and lips met. They hadn't
spoken a word yet after the tear soaked kiss as they looked deep
into each other's eyes and embraced again, seeming to melt to the
floor on their knees at first before falling to their sides on
the carpet whispering in each other's ear words that were
probably hard to make out through the emotion. Although their
hello after 9 years was hardly over they rolled to their knees
and eventually back to their feet, clutching each other tightly,
as if letting go would make the other disappear. No words could
describe the emotions they were going through. No one in the room
could say a word or try to interrupt or curtail the reunion. The
emotion was palpable.

"We have to understand that they are the only two people who
didn't think they were lost in the attacks. In their hearts, they
somehow knew the other was safe." Betty whispered to Scott as
they watched them hug, touch and feel each other.

After a few more moments Betty and Scott got up to join in a
group hug and cry.

Chapter 7

After an hour of red tape and exit interviews Selena was released
to her parents' custody until her identification and residency
could be established, much like they had for Joe. By the time
they arrived at the Marriott and got into the suite Joe and
Selena had still barely spoken to each other, spending their time
looking into each other's face and touching. It was obvious that
they had resigned themselves to not seeing each other ever again.

Scott and Betty had tried several times to start a conversation
with the two of them, but there was a wall of emotion around them
that was understandable.

"Let's leave the two of you alone to work out the emotion, the
time spent apart, and the answers to the million questions you
have for each other." Betty said after confiding with Scott.

They showed them to one of the rooms of the suite where they had
already brought some clothes from their closet, new accessories
and personal items for them. The room was small, a queen bed,
desk and office chair, an easy chair, a dresser that served as a
TV stand. It was essentially a small version of a standard room,
with full bath, no closet, just a clothes rod and shelf. Joe sat
in the easy chair and Selena on the edge of the bed opposite him.
They held hands and looked into each other's eyes.

"It's like we were tossed off the earth." Joe said, talking
first.

"Did we survive?" Selena asked.

"Understand, in my mind I'm only a few weeks removed and when I
"woke up" you were all I thought of, all I cared about. After I
learned it had been all of this time I thought you were either
dead or had started a new life." Joe said, his voice quivering.

"I spent all of that time, counted each day, in abject fear of
being damned to hell. My only peace and solace was alone in my
bed at night, thinking of you, but not quite knowing WHO you
were, because you would never abandon me like you did." She said
looking away, averting her eyes for the last few words.

"Abandon you?  I was SAVING you! You were incoherent with your
eyes fixed. I was in such pain I would have thrown myself to my
death, except I had to be sure you were OK. Something was driving
me away and I knew neither of us would survive if we went
together. When I sit and try to relive that time I remember
walking along a deserted freeway, although cars and trucks,
ambulances filled the other side. I knew the hospital was close
and I tried to get off by following a storm drain or something,
and I fell. My body turned into a big intense hurt and I went
out, thinking I was dying. The next thing I am cognizant of was
waking at Edison . . . and wanting to see you soo badly!" Joe
said as he fell forward crying into her arms.

Selena held him tightly, but there was still a coolness about her
toward him. She broke into tears and hugged him saying, "but you
left me there to die, you were the only one who knew . . .
EVERYTHING!"

Joe pulled away from her and shook his head forcefully saying
"No, no, no , NO, NO, NO!! I remember it like it just happened,
because to me, IT DID! That ambulance was my only way of saving
you, making sure you got the care. I had to keep moving,
something drove me. But, I was looking for the hospital those
guys said they were going to. Essy, I was so confused, wracked
with pain, and living on adrenaline. I couldn't drag you any
further with me because I didn't think I could make it . . . and
don't ask "make it where?" because I don't know!! Everything
about the time after I left you is a miasma. I was running as
fast as I could and one foot was nailed to the floor. Don't think
I left you to die. If I thought you would die I would have stayed
with you and died with you. I can't live without you." He said
pleading for her to understand.

"Essy . . . .it's so good to hear you call me my pet name. I love
to hear you call me that." She said as she pulled back and looked
into his eyes, before hugging her head to his shoulder as if to
reminisce over some special moment.

"You ARE my Essy! No matter what state I was in, when I returned
to normal, you were all I thought about. I was so sure you were
gone, because no one would tell me anything. I spent three weeks
trying to convince them who I was and they kept waiting for me to
wake up as someone else. I didn't understand that 9 years had
gone by." Joe said before his eyes welled up and he fought off
weeping or out and out bawling before his bravado broke and he
sobbed and blubbered.

Joe reached for her once again and held her to him as his tears
flowed while screeching through his sobs,  "I just wanted YOU and
to know you were still alive!"

Selena had never seen Joe so emotional, so engulfed in his fears
and feelings.

"Joey, Joey, I'm here, WE'RE here and I still love you more than
ever!" Selena said as she pressed herself to him and pulled him
back onto the bed with her.

"I've just . . . . just . . . just had this feeling you were a
little aloof about it all. . . . . . Like you didn't trust me or
think I was . . . ." Joe mumbled through his tears and
blubbering.

"JOE! Nine years of not knowing quite who I was, where I was and
not knowing if YOU were dead or alive. For more than half of that
time I was convinced you were out there with someone else and I
was dead. I'm still discovering. Be patient with me." She told
him as she held him to her and gently stroked the back of his
head.

As she held him she felt something pressing against her lower
belly.

"Oh God Joe, I've been waiting for that. I've even worried you
might not find me sexy anymore, I wanted you so badly!" Selena
said as she clasped him tightly and pressed herself to him.

Joe's tears finally stopped and he gathered himself as he lay
atop her and raised himself to talk to her, pressing his hardness
against her.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, how could I not
find you sexy, not to mention the fact that I love you! When I
would sit and reminisce about us I always had the image of us
together in Jamaica. Your body golden, your hair like spun gold,
and you wanting me every moment." Joe said almost shyly afraid
the words might open a memory she wasn't sure of.

"Ohhhh, Jamaica! God Joe, I'll never look like that again!" She
said almost embarrassed, her ardor fading fast.

"Are you kidding me? You still ARE the woman I was with in
Jamaica. All you need is some sun on that body and the ocean in
your hair." Joe said as he knelt himself up and took the bottom
of her shirt and pushed it up to reveal her breasts, as she made
no effort to stop him.



"Am I still a young girl there? I know my titties have changed."
Selena said in disgust.

"Selena, my love, if we lived together every day of the last 9
years they still would have changed. But, your just wider and
your nipples sit a little more on top when you stand. I've been
admiring them through your shirt since I first laid eyes on you
today." Joe said as he bent to kiss one before she pushed him
away.

"No, my Mom and Dad are right out there!" She scolded him.

"You don't think they put us in here for just this reason? I want
to be inside you! We can LOCK the door. Don't you want me to make
love to you?" Joe asked frantically.

Selena looked at Joe sternly before her face melted into a
tearful mess as she tried to squirm away from under him but he
held her fast wanting to know what the matter could be.

"What is it? Don't you love me? Is there someone else?" Joe
demanded, searching for a reason.

"No, no, no! " She blubbered through her tears, "If there's
someone else it's me! From the first time I was allowed to be
alone in a room to sleep I think I masturbated every night
thinking of you. Afterwards I was filled with guilt because I
thought I was in my afterlife, in a limbo, and the only thing
keeping me there, away from heaven, away from hell, were my sins.
In Catholic school they told us that it was a sin to enjoy your
body like that. But I couldn't give you up! You probably think
I'm crazy now and want to put me back in the hospital. The nuns
said masturbation would make us crazy, and I'm the proof!"

Her crying subsided now that she had it out in the open, but she
looked at Joe both hopefully and fearfully. He smiled softly at
her and lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly, and
whispered...

"You know you're not crazy, and you know that enjoying your body,
relieving your tensions, and wanting your lover aren't wrong.
Think about it. You were paranoid that you were being judged by a
greater being, and we certainly will be someday. But to judge
what's morally wrong and morally right, our conscience is the
real jury. If you believe in your heart of hearts that something
is wrong, and you do it in spite of that, you've sinned against
yourself. If you believe that we are a reflection of God, then
you've also sinned against God. How could wanting your lover
near, wishing your lover near, and taking the next best road to
pleasure to make it seem he were near, be bad? Does God want us
to deny ourselves pleasure when we judge it to be morally right
and just?" Joe preached.

"It, . . . it seemed so right at the time I would do it, but in
the morning I'd almost always have guilt and regrets, but I'm
never sorry I did it." Selena said as her mind was still building
moral structure after the years of haze.

She looked to be thinking far away from the situation and turned
a cold stare to Joe.

"But how do you, or how did you, morally justify all the women
you bedded down before me? Were you the worst sinner of all?" She
asked, but not in a tone of judgment.

"Morally, I knew I wasn't killing someone, stealing from someone,
or lying; those are the worst sins. I knew I was gratifying
myself, and fulfilling pleasure that was sought after. I knew I
wasn't leading someone on. We both knew what we wanted. Socially,
many would frown upon my behavior then, and the church, no matter
what denomination, might have called it sin. But, I never
believed it damaged my relationship with God; That sounds smug
and self-serving, but think of this scenario;
A person who puts 13 doughnuts in the bag and tells the cashier
there are 12,
A person who puts a gun to the head of another and pulls the
trigger, and
A person who sexually satisfies himself and a consenting partner.
If they were all to die at the same time, would God deal equal
punishment, the denial of life everlasting in heaven to each of
them? Who committed the real sin?" Joe said making a moralizing
point.

"Joe, I see and understand your point, and I agree with it as we
talked about all this when we first devoted ourselves to each
other. Just understand that at the time, when I thought I was in
Gods holding room, my mind was warped and I still have to put it
all into perspective. I want to make love to you. My pussy is
leaking through my underwear, my mouth hungers for the taste of
you, but that whole morality thing hangs over me and my parents
being on the other side of that door to hear us is the same as if
God were here in the room. Don't laugh at that." Selena conceded
and made her point.

"We can just be quiet! What's the worry?" He asked.

"I spent the better part of 9 years holding back myself, trying
to be quiet as I pleasured myself. I want to be myself with my
love. Do you know how long I've been looking forward to this
moment, felt guilt over how I fantasized over it? I am not going
to spare myself one speck of the pleasure, and I can't do that
with my parents on the other side of that door!" She said quite
convincingly.

"I suppose I understand, but it's still love we'd be making." Joe
said hoping to make a point.

"OK, my love. Let me make love to you with my mouth and just as
you're going to pour your seed over my tongue, please don't make
a sound. Just quietly cum in my mouth and as I suck the last
drops from you hard penis in my mouth, just lay still and smile."
She said smugly as she reached for his crotch.

"Touche'." He said softly as he pushed her hand away and got up.

He straightened his clothes and walked towards the door.

"That's it, that's all we have?" Selena said starting to panic.

"Calm down, I'm going to take care of something." Joe said as he
opened the door and went into the living area of the suite.

"Is everything OK?" Betty Hanson said as she was startled to see
Joe so quickly.

"Yes, everything is fine, she just has one problem." Joe said
taking a deep breath and then exhaling, not sure how to word his
request.

"Could you two go to lunch for an hour or so? She says she can't
"be herself" with her Mom and Dad in the next room. She loves and
respects you both too much. Please understand. She'll be OK." Joe
said sheepishly, not being able to look her straight in the eye.

Scott stood up and extended his hand to Betty.

"Come on Bett, I think I understand. If we were apart for a long
time it might be the same thing if those two were on the other
side of the wall." Scott said with a little grin on his face,
despite a slight tone of disdain in his words.

"SEX is important, Scott and she's NOT 18 anymore. Besides it's
intimacy she . . . um, THEY want and YOU would be just . . ."
Betty started to say before Scott spoke up.

"ALRIGHT, I GET IT!!" Scott said as he extended his hand to Betty
and headed toward the door.

Joe smiled to himself as if he had won a small victory of life
and went back into their room and locked the door behind him.

Selena was in the bathroom and she called out that she would be
right out.

"I took care of the intimacy problem." Joe said by the door.

"I know, I listened behind the door. Thank you. My Dad is going
to be protective again for a bit. Humor him." She said behind the
door as Joe heard the handle turn and she opened it.

Selena stepped out naked with one hand over her thick bush of
pubic hair and her vagina.
"I'm sorry, I know you like to see my pink, but they wouldn't let
me shave at the hospital." She said demurely as if offering
herself for judgment.

Joe's voice caught in his throat as he admired her body as he
drank in her sexy shyness.

"Oh my God!" Joe said, his voice quivering as if he were about to
break up. "You ARE the most beautiful woman God ever put on the
earth." His voice trailing off as a tear escaped his eye..

Selena walked to him kissed away the tear, put her arms around
him and rested her head on his shoulder, now sobbing herself.

"I never thought I would ever feel you like this again." She said
as she stood back and began to unbutton his shirt.

Joe went to help her but she pushed his hand away and continued
unbuttoning until she took it just below the collar tips and
pushed it over his shoulders to let fall off his arms.

 She smiled a devilish smile as she brought her hands to his belt
and noticed the bulge growing already.

"You're such a beautiful man, I can't wait for this." She
whispered as she unbuckled the belt and drew down his zipper.

She took hold of the top of his pants and pushed it together to
unslide the clasp, letting his pants fall with the weight of his
belt and things in his pockets.

She stood back and knelt to inspect the long scars on his legs
from his knee replacements. She ran her fingers over them and
looked up at him long and pouty.

"I wish I was there to comfort you after these surgeries. I loved
taking care of you before. You let me show how much I love you."
She said softly as she kissed up and down each scar.

"Of all the things I can't remember of the 9 years, I don't
regret having a memory of going through that. The Ortho who did
them told me that they pushed me extra hard in rehab because I
wouldn't remember the struggle from day to day. The facility
would have had to turn me over to another hospital if I were
crippled at all." Joe said in an almost whisper, wanting her to
know, but wanting to focus on other things right then.

"I'm so glad you're out of pain," She said as she looked up to
him, her view being blocked by what had filled his shorts.

"Oh, I'm SO sorry!" She said as she adjusted her kneed stance and
put both hands on the band of his jockeys and pulled them out and
away from his package and then down his legs.

"Your cock is so beautiful, all hard, and wanting." She said as
she ran her hands over it, squeezing it, kneading it.

"Oh god, I just have to taste it." She said as she opened her
mouth and slipped it over the head and pulling it back from her
lips to get every bit of the man flavor it offered.

Her eyes filled with tears as she took both hands and grasped
him, pushing back what hadn't retracted already until her hands
were pressed against his belly and his whole length stood out.
She opened her mouth and put the head on her tongue and pushed
her mouth as far onto him as she could before relenting as not to
gag.

"You still taste like my love." She said as she looked up to him,
but his eyes were rolled up in his head as he exhaled deeply.

"Good Lord, that's amazing, you make me feel so good, so
special." He said as even his new knees wobbled.

She put her mouth over him a few more times as he groaned, but
when he looked down at her and their eyes met he extended his
hands for her to take and he helped her stand. He turned her and
let her sit on the bed. He knelt between her legs and used his
hands on her knees to spread her legs and let her lie back, her
legs going in the air. He used his fingers to part the thick bush
around her vagina and put his tongue right to her clit, before
licking up and down her slit while she swooned loudly.

"Oh, how I've longed for your mouth to love my pussy so gentle
and tender. I'll HAVE to get it nice and smooth for you so you
can put it all in your mouth for me. Oh, Joey I've missed this
soooo much, but I have to feel you inside me. My pussy needs you
so much." She said through strained groans of pleasure as Joe
took here cue and got to his feet.

He put his knees to the edge of the bed and put her legs onto his
shoulders, bending her in half as he hovered over her waiting for
the tip of his cock to fit into the wetness between her legs.
When he felt her lips "kiss" him he pushed in and fully knelt on
the bed, his feet coming off the floor.

Selena hollered a loud whoop as if being deflowered for the first
time scrawling her face as she felt every hard inch of Joe fill
her. Then a little smile crept over her face, relieving Joe from
any thoughts he may have hurt her.

"This is what I've wanted for the thousands of days I was in my
prison." She said happily.

"To get laid?" Joe asked.

"No! To have you make love to me! I could have had sex anytime I
was in there. There was always so horny patient trying to egg me
to sex when and if I ended up alone with one. I wanted YOU! I
wanted to feel you inside of me like you are now. Fuck me Joey,
make me crazy!" She said as her voice pitched high as if she
might cry and swoon at the same time.

Joe hunched up and began to stroke within her, bending her in
half with each stroke as she began to lose her breath and reach
her first climax. Their eyes locked until Selena's eyeballs
rolled up and almost out of sight as Joe felt her squeezing him
within her. When he was sure this second orgasm had passed he
stroked from her and backed his head from between her knees and
let her fall only to flip her onto her knees. Her pussy looked to
be a wet mouth in her thick bush and he aimed for it as she
dropped her shoulders waiting to be sheathed again.

"Ohhhhh Goddddd!" She exclaimed as he filled her to the hilt and
began to pump her hard as the slaps of their bodies echoed in the
room. She panted and squealed as he grabbed the cheeks of her ass
and fucked the daylights out of her. He felt his cum rising and
wanted to delay one more time and stopped his assault on her to
lean over and press his body to her while reaching around to hold
her breasts.

"Truly heaven, truly heaven!" She whispered aloud as she tried to
catch her breath.

Joe responded by kissing her back and giving her nipples a pinch
before getting upright behind her and looking down at her spread
ass and filled pussy. He wet his thumbs to rub over her little
asshole to tease her, still irresistible despite the pubic hair
that had been allowed to grow wild during her years of therapy.
She growled a moan as her pressed and fiddled with the pliant
little ring, although he never pressed into it. That play would
come later.

He knew her body so intimately and completely that he did notice
something different as he gripped her cheeks and ran his thumbs
over her most private place. He was about to say something when
the light allowed him to think he saw a scar running from below
her anus to her vagina, what he knew to be an episiotomy scar.

"When did she have a baby?" He shouted to himself.

It was a question he quickly answered, knowing if she had been
aware of it, he would know. What happened in that hospital? He
didn't want to upset Selena because certainly if she were aware
of any such situation she would have said something immediately,
only because of how dear she held her potential for motherhood.

"Joe, you're losing it, I can feel you shrinking. You didn't cum
yet, did you?" Selena asked as he stopped any movement and
fingerplay.

"No, No, I was just admiring how young and supple that ass of
yours is. Do you like it when I hold it, play with it?" He said
as he set his mind back to the task at hand while wondering how
and where he might find information on her years in hospitals.

Joe began to saw in and out of her while his mind raced about
what he might have seen, although he knew what it was, having
been with enough women to know.

"Uh, uh, uh, uh," Selena barked out as she took her own orgasm to
task as she punched her ass back at Joe, rising up on her elbows.

She was just bringing on her next spasm when she fell away from
Joe, almost in shock.

"Oh God, don't cum in me! We have no idea what's happening with
us yet!" she exclaimed

Joe was shocked at her quick move away from him and his straining
cock, yelling "WHAT?" as he looked down at her.

"Joe, we better not chance it, Besides, I want a TASTE of that!"
She said pointing and reaching for Joe's cock while she got to
her knees on the bed and bent to all fours.

"When that door clicks shut, you are my naughty wife . . . . and
I love you for it." Joe said smiling down at his wanton bride.

"I don't love you a speck less than the night we were married and
besides, we've only had one night together being married. This is
still the honeymoon where we discover each other's sexual likes
and dislikes." She said as she bumped her lips and nose on the
cock in her face.

"Do you think you like that?" He asked laughing.

`No, I LOVE this!" She said with a teasing grin before she opened
her mouth and pushed her mouth over him.

She rocked back and forth a few times before Joe took up the task
and gently fucking her mouth. All thoughts about the episiotomy
scar left him as he concentrated on his own orgasm and the mouth
that was going to make it happen.

Looking down at the intent face of Selena, with her eyes closed
and drool spit dripping from her chin while taking the head and a
bit more of his cock in and out of her mouth, he became
powerfully aware of how much he loved her. So smart, so sexy, so
wanton, so much the perfect woman even he couldn't have imagined.
He wondered if she felt as blessed as he, wanting so much to be
her perfect mate.

Suddenly all thoughts were dashed as his loins sent the message
throughout his body and he exclaimed "Oh baby, I'm going to cum!
I'M CUMMING!"

He reached with his hand to hold and squeeze his spittle wet dick
and urge the seed from his sack while she hummed contentment and
loudly swallowed his juice.

Joe ooohed and ahhhhed his way through the end of his orgasm
until he could offer no more and his penis just became too
sensitive for her ministrations and he sat back onto his legs,
tipping his head up and closing his eyes to enjoy the pleasure
vibe going through his body.

He felt her kissing his leg and he looked down to see her
continue to kiss up his leg, over his belly and chest to his
mouth as she slowly stood and bent over him, kissing him deeply
and sharing the taste of his seed.

She stood straight and pulled his head to her belly as he wrapped
his hands around her and held the balls of her shapely ass. He
kissed her belly and instantly thought about the possibility that
she may have been pregnant. He saw no stretch marks or any sign
of carrying a child and knew that if it had happened, she was not
aware of it.


After their reverie of making love for the first time since 911
Selena stepped off the bed and went to the cosmetic case her
mother had brought for her. She giggled loudly as she turned to
Joe with scissors in one hand and a pink disposable razor in the
other.

"How would you like to clean this dinner plate and have a real
feast?" She said gleefully with one hand on her crotch.

"Gladly, let's make it smooth like a baby!" Joe said as he hopped
up and followed her to the bathroom.

The shave, and the resulting tongue and finger-play, took up the
rest of their private time before Betty and Scott Hansen
returned. They had just come out of their room to look for
something to eat when they walked in the door, holding bags of
leftovers.

"We went to a nice deli and got huge combination sandwiches we
knew we could never finish, as well as a couple cole slaws and
cheesecake to go. Will that satisfy a couple hungry appetites?"
Betty asked.

"Mom, you are the best, Dad too!" Selena said as she went up and
hugged them both.

"Somebody is in a better mood than when we left." Scott said
winking at Joe.

Selena blushed and playfully pushed her Dad away, but she was
glad he understood.

Just then the phone rang; it was Philly Flowers calling to
arrange a session with Selena for the following day.


"I hope she's doing well so far," Philly said to Betty,  "I'd
like to get her first day impressions and then see her again in a
couple more days before you go back. Spoon feeding the world to
them is important, especially before they get immersed in their
home and former lives. When they walk into their house they are
going to feel like nothing has changed and they have to be
accustomed to drastic changes before they tackle and understand
that obstacle."

"I understand," Betty said, "They've spent these last few hours
alone together and it seems to have done wonders for both of
them."

"That's important too. Now, Doctor Culver would like me to meet
with Joe as well, if he'll agree to it. She had said he was
pretty stubborn about further treatment. He swears he's totally
fine, but I would love to talk with him, get some impressions,
and maybe help him understand a bit more of the process he'll
have to deal with."

"I'll talk to him, and I can assure you, he'll agree to it. He's
putty in my hands." Betty said.

Little did Betty know that Joe wanted to talk to her and would
welcome a private meeting to discuss his suspicions and see what
she might know.

On the following day Philly did meet with Selena and they had a 2
hour discussion that further cleared Philly's mind that releasing
Selena was the right thing to do. Her grasp of reality and her
expectations showed her inquisitive and logical thought process.
She was ready to be spoon fed back into the world.

Nurse Flower's meeting with Joe showed her very much the same
results, although the huge hole of time he had missed was still
causing some mystery with him. Losing nine years was hard to
swallow, no matter how logical your mind may be.

When they appeared to be about through Joe broke the ice about
his questions about Selena by showing her a piece of plain logic
to show his fears held some water.

"When Selena tells me the story of her Hospital and clinical
"incarcerations" as she calls it I come up about 5 months, or 150
days, short." Joe said to her.

"Maybe she just lost track of some days and . . ." she started to
say before Joe interrupted.

"No, the counts of the days were just too accurate. Remember she
knows the exact day number where you took her to solve her female
issues Is it possible that she might have been sedated for a long
period if they thought she might hurt herself, or something? Last
night while we getting intimate I noticed she has an episiotomy
scar that runs from the bottom of her vagina almost to her anus.
She fantasizes about having children and this is something she
wouldn't hide from me." Joe told her emphatically.

"You're really serious about this, aren't you? I suppose I don't
want to know the answer to this question, but how are you so
familiar with episiotomy scars?" Philly asked.

"I've been with a LOT of women, some so vain that they have had
plastic surgery to fix the scar. But, since most women who are
"out" and putting themselves in play are completely shaven, I've
seen them and I know them." Joe said a bit embarrassed.

Philly Flowers was taken a bit back by his comment, causing her
to intone, "Apparently you slept with a lot of married women to
become such an expert." She said almost snottily.

"If you must know, only once intentionally. If there were others,
I wasn't aware of it. But, you don't have to be married to have
had a baby. I'm not totally proud of who I was, but with Selena
I'm just who she thinks I am. She knows my history all too well."
He admitted.

Philly looked down at the floor in deep thought before looking
into Joe's eyes to get a final read.

"I'll tell you what, I'll ask around with some of the people who
saw her those first days and see if I find anything. If I don't,
promise me you'll just drop this. I foresee a big bag or worms
and if Selena ever finds out she may have HAD a baby, and there
is NO proof - that scar could be from something else, it could
set her back. OK?" Philly told him, almost scolding him.

In Philly Flowers mind, she thought Joe was onto something
because of the discrepancy in the count of days. Selena was
deeply paranoid at the time and knew each and every day of her
stays. Nurse Flowers thought how she might approach this, knowing
if there were any sort of cover-up she would be stonewalled.

Chapter 8

Nurse Flowers had access to resources the general public would
not be privy to and she quietly used them to piece together
Selena Johnson's medical history from 9/11 until now. Her first
problem was finding multiple records on her admittance to the
hospital since Joe hadn't given her name and Emory Richards
hadn't asked for it not knowing Joe was going to run away so
quickly. She needed to be stabilized as well as they could before
worrying about formalities.

In accessing information online, even with her enhanced access to
information out of view to the general public, it was apparent
that some records were either scrubbed or not available. The
transpositions of the field notes from the ambulance that Emory
Richards reviewed in front of the Hansons didn't exist and a trip
to Christian Hospital was going to be necessary. She decided to
make it a cold call, as the Hansons had, just to assure herself
that nothing funny was going on. Joe's discovery of the missing
days, the fact that 911 was never brought into the mix on her
case, differing reports of her mental state upon arrival some
describing raging, and others catatonic, yet she told someone her
name was Sue Johnson, were all just a bit too much conflicting.

There should have been a pregnancy test at some point early on to
help determine the safety of certain medications and anesthesia,
but none appeared to be done. An unconscious female being
catheterized before surgery would most certainly be tested, yet
none appeared. There were several redactions in the admitting
nurse's notes with no photocopy of the original available, yet
all other transcribed notes in the new database linked to the
originals for viewing. Yet, Shelly Peters produced the original
for Dr. Richards in the Hansons presence. When checking the
admitting nurses initials, she found ER everywhere and the bottom
signed E. Richards. He had admitted her himself. That was not
entirely strange, but an RN should have counter-initialed his
signature at the end. There were 3 instances where the letters
"rdt" appeared in smaller font and gray type in the
transcription. Philly went over in her head the standard
procedure checklist for a trauma case with foul play suspected,
as this should have been treated at the time. "Undergarment
removed and bagged for DNA", "Semen present", and a note where
vaginal bleeding is described as menstrual or sexual were all
redacted.

"I wouldn't mind talking to the other attendant on that ambulance
to see if I get the same story as Emory Richards account was."
Philly thought to herself as she flipped through the URL's to get
his name. It was then she realized that the other attendants name
appeared nowhere in any of the documents pertaining to this case.

She typed quickly to seek information on the same ambulance for
the day before, and day before that and found Emory Richards P.A.
listed as EMT and Jack Spagner M.A. listed for each day. She
looked up subsequent days and found the same. Why was his name
washed from the 9/11 entries? Curious she call the H.R. Dept. at
Christian Hospital to inquire about one of their employees, Jack
Spagner, as he was being considered for a position and he had
used Christian Hospital as a reference. After being referred to
the proper person, an older woman's voice came on the line.

"You wanted information on Jack Spagner? You should know he uses
the French-Canadian pronunciation "spahn-yay". He left here about
8 years ago and we don't give references after 24 months of
separation." She told her.

Sensing the woman as older and perhaps a nosy type, she
persisted.

"Oh? He listed the hospital as a reference." Nurse Flowers
commented.

"Well, I suppose we might be the last place he was before he went
to work for his brother."

"His brother?"

"Oh yes, his brother is the administrator at The Felsen Clinic."

Philly Flowers quickly thought about The Felsen Clinic. It was a
brain studies hospital where mostly violent schizophrenic and
multiple personality patients were studied, many times to give
disposition to the courts for worthiness for trial or for social
incarceration.

"Could this be the "White Room" she spoke of in her day count?"
She thought to herself.

She always assumed that "White Room" meant the 7th floor at
Christian Hospital where the atmosphere was "white" and
non-criminal patients, traumatized or violent, usually being
readied for drug rehab, were held and counseled until they were
mentally prepared to be moved to a bridge to society.

Phyllis Flowers decided it was time to snoop around in the
patient logs of both Christian Hospital and The Felsen Clinic. If
there were a cover up going on with treatment method or lack of
tests or hidden tests and results, one thing they couldn't cover
up was the existence of the patient themselves. Since no one was
apparently making claim of "Sue Johnson", they could ferry her
around a bit without question. Patients with no viable means of
payment or insurance were usually given over to state sponsored
institutions after 10 days, but with overcrowding and
understaffing the state was picking up the tab for some patients
until they could be moved to one of their institutions. Once
dollar one was paid there was a file on that patient and making
them disappear was impossible.

Using her New Jersey State Medical Administrators ID she was able
to start accessing admittance records of both facilities. Using
Selena's day counts she began to look up patient transfers
between the two places from September 20th, her count of 9 days
forward of the "ambulance hospital", and the next 82 days of
Selena's count of her stay in the "white room".

Philly set up an Excel file for 7th floor patients using the
9/19/01 roster and then used a system of tabbing discharges and
transfers out. They were either sent: HOME, STATE HOSPITAL,
FELSEN, HAMPDEN, MORGUE, or OTHER. Because Jane Doe's were
sometime later identified, Nurse Flowers simply gave each patient
a number that sub-texted a name when highlighted with the mouse.
Of the 14 patients on the floor 4 were men and 10 were women.
Three of the women were Jane Doe's given the names Jane Doe
2001-190, Jane Doe 2001-191, and Jane Doe 2001-192 by the
hospital. Sue Johnson became the 15th patient on the floor. Daily
notes by the nurses showed checkbox's for commonalities for these
types of patients. Lucid, confused, restrained, Rx unaware, Rx
aware, catheterized, pregnant, etc.

It appeared that "Sue Johnson" was restrained and kept on a low
dose of something to keep her calm. Philly remembered that one
comment written earlier was that she would "rage" whenever they
weaned her off any drugs. She could only imagine her mental
state.

In the entries for October 10th there were notations of Sue
Johnson vomiting. At least once a day they tried to get her to
sip pureed foods through a straw to supplement any intravenous
feeding but they were afraid of her becoming "too aware" and
choking. At some point during this time they did a pregnancy
stick in her catheter bottle and she was marked as "pregnant".
This entry appeared for the 11th and the 12th . Then the pregnant
box was no longer checked. Strangely though, Jane Doe 2001-191,
began to show "pregnant" on her daily chart. On November 21st
Jane Doe 2001-191 was transferred to The Felsen Clinic where she
remained until May 17th 2002. She apparently delivered a baby
during that period and was then transferred to Hampden. However
the admission forms to Hampden were for Sue Johnson and then a
transfer back to Christian Hospital was placed for Jane Doe
2001-191.

The "human inventory keeping" was very sloppy and apparently
overlooked by administration. The fact there were 3 Jane Doe's
and Sue Johnson, who for all intents and purposes was also a Jane
Doe, for whom they made unscrutinized moves and the changes went
unnoticed. The sign-off on the daily patient list was done by a
staff doctor, Jason Ulrich, but always with a stamped signature
with initials ER beside it. Philly assumed that was Emory
Richards.

Unless there were some problems, like a drastic change in one's
health, a doctor, or intern probably went to the floor, looked at
charts, asked a few questions, signed off, and left. Anyone there
who was a "patient" (read paying customer) of a particular doctor
was certainly covered in their rounds, but Jane and John Doe's
and other wards of the state on loan for over-crowding, got
wham-bam treatment unless they had a health problem besides the
one that got them there.

APN Phyllis Flowers knew something was awry but wasn't sure of
the ultimate source. Her questions about Emory Richards were
always answered with glowing reviews. He was a complete competent
orthopedic surgeon, a qualified Osteopath, and said to be one of
the best Emergency Room triage Doctors according to any nurse who
ever worked with him. So why was he apparently taking part in a
cover up or scam with this one patient that he had fleeting
contact with?

Although she had the initials APN (Advanced Psychiatric Nurse)
with her name, many of the people she would like to engage on
this matter would look at her as a "nurse. An APN is much more
and since they very often witness abuse of those in psychiatric
care. Nurses, doctors, orderlies, and anyone who comes in contact
with the poor souls, can be having a bad day and forget that
having extra patience is necessary. APN's need to address this
with the patients and report to the Medical Examiners Board. New
Jersey's Medical Examiners Board was called The State Medical
Examiners Review Panel. It consisted of 8 members, plus a
presiding officer who serves ex officio (an officer not
necessarily part of the purpose of the board, but the keeper of
common ethical standards). She hadn't had to seek the board for
quite a few years so she checked to see if she might have a
friend or willing ear that might at least inconspicuously look
into problems here and decide if an investigation is needed.

Her heart fluttered and then sunk a bit when she saw the names on
the current board and Dr. Shane Proctor's name jumped out at her.
He had been her first love, meeting in Med School when she had
aspirations to be an MD. After some time she caught him cheating
and broke it off, a move she didn't get over for a long time.
After a few months she had a few short term affairs to get back
"into play" and she met Charlie, her husband. Charlie, better
known as "Chucker" for his softball pitching prowess, was a
production manager for a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Some eight
years later she once again crossed paths with Shane at a Medical
Convention in Pasadena. They struck up a friendship again, before
the night was over, she found herself cheating on Charlie. It
wasn't a vengeful move to prove dissatisfaction with her
marriage, it was simply sex.

Morally she was sorry, but otherwise she negotiated with her
conscience that sex with Shane was animal, dirty, horny sex and
much like enjoying a ride at an amusement park. She still loved
her husband very much, and had a very satisfying sexual
relationship with him (still a couple times a week after 11
years, and occasional all bed weekends). Her dalliance with Shane
posed no threat to her marriage, as long as it remained her
secret. Shane was a Lothario who would never settle down. He told
her when they split that he never intended on remaining true to
her, even though he loved her more than anyone else he had ever
had a relationship with, a line he obviously used many times.

She placed a call to a few of the hospitals and psychiatric
centers she dealt with and worked in on a regular basis and asked
about the Jersey State Medical Examiners Review Panel to see if
they were as tough as she remembered when she interned. Two
different administrators talked in particular of the handsome
investigator who could catch you off guard with his good looks
and then strike like a cobra, enforcing every little codicil to
the last letter. He had left a long list of suspensions and
warnings around the state. She knew of who they spoke, it had to
be Shane, it was just his way.

Although she was convinced that Shane couldn't coerce her into
bed again, she did feel a tingle within at the thought of it.
Reluctantly she called the board and left a message for Shane to
contact her. In the meantime she went back to meet with Scott and
Betty Hanson. Joe and Selena had one more meeting with the
Hampden and Edison people to secure ID's and proper paperwork to
begin to rebuild their lives before returning home.

"I know that you both have faced a hundred questions and are sure
to be interviewed a 100 more times in the next few weeks, but I
do want to go over a few things as I step up and investigation of
everything that went on with your daughter. Joe has brought some
things to my attention that he believes to be irregular. He
doesn't want to impair your daughter's recovery by involving her
at this time, but I have found some things I think should be
reviewed again." Nurse Flowers began as both Betty and especially
Scott Hanson looked forlornly back at her, as if to say "what
ELSE could there be"?

"Is there, or was there, any one you dealt with since you first
saw the news report that started this whole thing that caused you
to think that something wasn't right, or you were being lied to?"
She asked without prompting them to indict anyone in particular.

"Oh YES!" Scott answered as Betty nodded vigorously.

"Christian Hospital! In the Administration office, the Peters
lady who was in charge of information, records, and public
relations." Betty blurted out.

"I didn't trust what was going on in that office from the start.
I thought she tried to prompt the Richards fellow before he met
with us. She had paged him and when he came into the office he
walked in as if he were a regular visitor, past the receptionist
and right in, closing the door behind him. I thought to myself
"BULLSHIT", and we went right in behind him a second later while
the receptionist tried to stop us. I had a bad feeling from the
start in there!" Scott said, as if unloading something he wanted
to say for quite some time.

"He seemed to resign himself to our questions while the Peters
lady glared at him. Finally he spoke harshly to her that we
deserved to get as many facts as possible. But still there was a
cloak of secrecy that seemed to be there." Betty added as Scott
nodded.

"That's interesting because that is where I found there to be
some unanswered questions." Philly told them as she opened her
briefcase to go over some things with them.

"In all of the accounts of the day, the second ambulance person
was never named, and that's bothered me." Scott said.

"Well, that fact and Ms. Peters both emit a stink for me as well.
I have some feelers out at Christian. One of the therapists from
my group is there every week and she is trying to get some
information for me without stating reasons or drawing suspicion.
I'll keep you posted and please don't mention to Selena anything
about this, and for that matter, let's not let Joe know I spoke
to you. Let's keep the waters as still as possible." Nurse
Flowers said as she packed her things back into her briefcase.

As he finished and was about to leave Joe and Selena opened the
door and came in. They had just finished working out in the
exercise room and were going to shower before brunch.

"Are you here to see us? Do you have our papers?" Joe asked
hopefully.

"No, I was just heading over to Hampden to give them the last
information they needed to complete them and I thought I would
stop and get it personally rather than call from there. You know,
just checking up on you two." She said with a smile.

"I'm beginning to get charged, but I'm not looking forward to a
media crunch. I haven't spoken with Joe about it, but I think I
would like to go away for a week or so after this all comes out,
let my parents deal with the initial surge, if they don't mind. I
feel fragile, vulnerable, . . . .I'm not really sure of the word
to apply but . . . ." Selena said as if unloading a burden, when
her Mom interrupted.

"Don't worry, we can do that, protect you from that." She said
before Scott piped in.

"We think you should handle it through work. Let them announce
your return and the general specifics. They can just answer "no
comment" and something to the effect that she and her family have
been through enough when the press fishes for more. We'll just
engage local press. We only want the best for you Selena dear."

"Daddy, I don't think we should involve . . ." Selena started
before Scott interrupted her.

"I've already spoken to Ross Curran. They will do anything you
would like to make it easier and,  . . . . . . . . they want to
know when you might come back." Scott said with a huge glowing
smile.


Selena choked back tears at her father's words, happy to know
that she was still considered part of that family. After
swallowing and getting her composure back a bit she swallowed and
said, "Thanks Daddy, I'll call them soon, after Joe and I have
something planned out."

"We'll talk about all of this when we do our exit interviews,
Selena. Ultimately you know it's up to you and Joe. Don't fret on
it yet." Philly said as she went out the door and left the four
of them alone.

"We're going to shower and go to brunch." Joe said as he took
Selena's hand and headed toward their room.

"OK, we're going to go shopping and have lunch to give you two
some alone time. Remember we have to go to Hampden for 3 o'clock
so we'll be back by 2. Tomorrow afternoon we'll pack up and go to
Edison for a 4 o'clock meeting and head home. You'll sleep in
your own bed tomorrow night." Scott said hoping to get a smile
from both of them.

The door clicked behind Selena and Joe and she looked at him and
said "our own bed, I can't wait." As she twirled away from him
and sat on the bed.

"Do you remember when we were on the way to the airport from
Negril and you philosophized about our love-making saying, "How
many days, like yesterdays marathon, do you have in your life;
three or maybe four?" We had 2 days like that in that week, . . .
I want to go back. Not to recapture or love, we haven't lost
that, but to recapture the moment. I want to be alone with you
without a worry in the world like it was then. I want to make
love anytime and any way we want. To be open and free about our
bodies. I want to put these nine years to rest before we go back
to our lives. The world owes us that. Can we please, please,
please?" She begged.

"You don't think we can do that in our own home?" Joe asked,
knowing it wouldn't satisfy her.

"Can I walk with you on the beach in the moonlight and stop to
take you in my mouth and hear you groan amidst the crashing of
the waves. Can I plop my little ass in the sand and have you make
my little button dance on your tongue while your finger skewers
my hiney and hope the surf drowns my screams of ecstasy?" She
said with a devilish grin.

"Nuff said, we'll go" He said with a laugh as he pushed her back
onto the bed and affixed his mouth to hers.

After a moment she broke the kiss to say. "Come on, let's fuck in
the shower, and then go down for the brunch. I'm starved and that
Seafood Newburg we had the first day is all I could smell when we
walked past this morning."

Joe pulled himself up and began to peel off his sweats while she
did the same heading towards the bath.

When Philly Flowers got to Hampden that morning to check on her
patients there was a note there for her to call Patti Clapp, the
therapist from her group that worked at Christian Hospital. She
had only spoken to her early the previous afternoon and was
surprised she had something to say already.

"Hello Patti, I'm returning your call. Can you talk?" Nurse
Flowers asked.

"Yes, I'm, alone in my office, on my cell. Apparently this
Spagner guy is here a lot, he lives with someone in
administration, a Michelle Peters, who must be the Shelly Peters
you asked about. She's also a step-sister to the Doctor Richards
you asked about. Richards and Spagner got into a real row some
time back, right in the 7th floor solarium. I'm talking black
eyes, teeth knocked out, broken ribs. The 7th floor head nurse,
Gloria Sellars, has been there forever and she said it was over
one of the patients, a Jane Doe. She claims she never got the
whole story, but the Jane Doe was shipped out to Felsen right
away and both Richards and Spagner were suspended. Spagner was
fired in a private hearing, but he had resigned before then and
went to work for his brother, who is CEO at Felsen. He's only a
driver for him, moving patients around. Richards, on the other
hand, was reinstated after his suspension. He knows Spagner is in
the building from time to time and avoids him. Oddly, he keeps a
close relationship with his step-sister and still manages to
avoid Spagner. This nurse says that even though it's been 7 or 8
years since the brouhaha on the floor, Richards is on a short
leash with the hospital and the Jersey Board. I think she knows
more but was unwilling to let go. I didn't want to press her and
think I was too interested. There's one busybody matron who
always has a story. I'll see her this afternoon with one patient
and I'll plant a few seeds and see what I get." Patti said, her
curiosity obviously piqued by what she had heard.

"Oh, I'd appreciate that!" Philly said wondering if Patti saw the
irony that she had come to her, Patti, because SHE was a
busybody.

When Philly got home that night she noticed there was another
message on her cell from Patti Clapp, but it was almost 11
o'clock and felt it was too late to call her back. She wondered
to herself if she pressed this Dr. Richards he might come clean,
IF there were anything to come clean about. If he still felt
there was a short leash on his position at the hospital, or in
the state, for that matter, maybe he would clear his conscience.

It was then Philly Flowers got the idea that just showing up in
Peter's office WITH Shane
Proctor in tow, requesting to see records for Selena, AND a
meeting with Emory Richards. She would just need to know that
Emory was on the schedule the day of the cold call. It was at
that moment that she was startled by the touch of a hand on her
shoulder while she sat at the kitchen table poring over notes.

"Oh Chucker! You startled me! I heard you snoring on the couch
and I was going to get you up when I went to bed. I'm sorry I'm
so late. I had things to clean up at Hampden to let a patient
re-socialize, then Avis and I stopped at a Diner for a quick
sandwich and we got BS-ing, and you know . . . . ." She said as
she stood and turned to hug Charlie.

"Come on, I'll take you to bed and ease your stress." Charlie
said as hand dropped to give her ass a squeeze.

She was about to say she was too tired when guilt crept over her
about the tingle that she felt  when she had thought of Shane
Proctor earlier. She hummed an approval to his grope and pressed
to him tighter.

Charlie swept her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom
as he had many times in moments like these. He put her on the bed
and straddled her waist and began to unbutton the top that
matched her skirt that covered her frilly blouse.

"Chucker!" She whined. "Let me get out of these clothes before we
tear at or stretch the button holes, please?

He smiled and got up from the bed and let her stand to begin
unbuttoning her top and then slide off her skirt, placing them
both neatly on the back of the chair at her dressing bureau.
Before she could turn back she felt his hands go under her blouse
and hold her tits.

"No bra? Maybe you should go over my knee." He chuckled as she
swooned and unbuttoned the blouse while pushing her ass against
his hardness.

"I'm wearing that top, all buttoned, over them and I don't need
the bra, so confining and so hot." She giggled as he picked her
up and sat back on the edge of the bed, she lying over his knees.
He peeled the unbuttoned blouse from her and looked down at the
barely covered bottom of his wife.

"Such little panties, they aren't going to protect you from a
spanking." He said laughing as he rubbed her butt in circles.

"Give your bad girl a few of what she needs, but remember I have
to sit down tomorrow." Philly said suddenly aching for the hard,
hot, crack of his hand.

"You don't think I would hurt an ass this cute." He said as his
hand slapped down hard on her right butt cheek.

"Sssssssss, . . . .ahhhhh. Oh that's it, now warm the other
side." Philly said unnecessarily as the second crack struck just
where she wanted it.

"Ssssssss . . . ahhhh." She repeated as she slid off his knees to
hers.

"That's warm enough to get my pussy wet for you. Let's get your
cock ready." She whispered as she fumbled with the jersey pants
that served as his pajamas.

She pulled out his firm cock and put her mouth over it as far as
she could before closing over it and sucking it all the way up. A
chill ran up her spine as she tasted the salty man taste of penis
while she buried her face into his crotch again, bobbing her head
a few times before pulling her head off, and leaving a spit
string from the tip to her lower lip.

"Fuck me Charlie, love that pussy up." She said as she pulled
herself up and flopped on the bed, reaching down to slip off her
panties before spreading her legs, knees up waiting for him.
 Charlie came to his feet and pushed his pants off the rest of
the way and knelt between her legs. She reached for his cock and
helped bring it to her dewy lips and he slid all the way into
her.


"God Chucker, I love you so much. Don't ever doubt that. Fuck me
good and hard, let me feel you all day tomorrow." She whispered
as she held his head close to hers as his hips drove her ass
deeper and deeper into the mattress.

"I love you just as much, my little Philly fuck. I love you just
as much." He whispered back as he built to his orgasm and spilled
it inside her.

In a few moments they lay in sweaty junction huffing and puffing
until their breath returned. With a deep tonguey kiss they said
good night as they rolled in opposite directions on the bed and
fell asleep.

Chapter 9

Making love to her husband was supposed to cool the pangs of
guilt she felt over her affair with the man who possessed her
cherry. It wasn't even the guilt over the act, it was the tingle
she felt when she saw his name on the page on the internet. He
still held that sort of grip over her sexuality. But if making
love to Charlie was supposed to ease her mind, it only put her
mind and body in a sexual frame as she drifted off to sleep. Her
whole affair played out in her post-coital wet
dreams...............

A first day at any convention or meeting of the minds was nerve
wracking since you usually knew none or few of the people you
were to share ideas with. This particular gathering was in San
Diego and put on by The American College of Emergency Physicians
and The American Psychiatric Association, "When does it become a
psychiatric emergency? Or when does the broken body become the
least of the patient's problems".

At 8:30 Philly Flowers studied the name tags on the table and was
about to credential hers when she felt the buzz of her cell phone
in her pocket.

"Hello?" She said as she got her nametag and brochure.

"Did you ignore me on purpose in the hotel this morning? I
thought we had enough special moments that we really could stay
friends." Shane Proctor said hoping she might recognize his
voice.

"Shane? No I didn't see you, why didn't you call out?" Philly
responded.

"Just in case you still hate me." Shane said smugly.

"I NEVER said I hate you, you just broke my heart and
disappointed me more than I thought possible, but I got over it.
You know I've been married for a few years now, right?" She
asked.

"Of course, I hear things. We still have a lot of the same
friends. Can we sit together on the floor today? I hate being
stuck beside someone I don't know, or want to." Shane wondered.

"You've already had a chance to check out the female doctors on
hand?" Philly asked, half serious, half kidding.

"No I didn't, but I doubt I could find one as pretty as you." He
said in a flatter-flirt.

"You never turn it off, do you? Meet me at the entrance marked
LOWER D. That should get us close to the middle towards the
front. Don't dally because it starts in a half hour and would
like to get settled." Philly said as she surveyed the floor plan
in her brochure.

They met and hugged with an air kiss and moved to the section
where Philly had wanted, taking notes as they both listened
intently to the first 2 hour session. There would be a 30 minute
break and then an hour of questions and answers, then a 90 minute
lunch and rest break before the afternoon session.

In just their first few moments together Philly was reminded why
she was so attracted to Shane in the first place. He was charming
and seemed to exude sex. She was a sexual neophyte when they met
in college. However, she hadn't started that way in High School.

Upon returning to classes after her freshman year of high school,
she and her then best friend Kerry Conner, whom she had spent the
summer at YMCA camp with, were suddenly two well developed
sophomore girls. Days of rowing crew in the sun helped young
bodies blossom and both girls knew they could have their choice
of guys at school. Young and horny, they compared notes seeing
who was getting further experienced with boys, mostly handsome
young athletes from the senior class.

Although "doing it" was their goal, Phyllis, as she was known
then, was wary of "going ALL the way". They confided in each
other about being felt up, taking off their tops to let boys
nibble and nurse their pert young nipples which led to fingers
plunging in and out of their wet little pussies. Kerry was the
first to admit she put "it" in her mouth to avoid doing the big
deed. Phyllis reluctantly followed her lead with boys begging for
relief after being denied a chance to actually "do it" and not
wanting to be called a tease. Suck, jerk, and squirt kept her a
technical virgin.

Then one Saturday morning Kerry called her to talk about being
forced to "give in". She may not have wanted to admit it, but she
was raped. She complained how much it hurt and Phyllis decided to
slow her own run for experience down. A month later Kerry learned
she was pregnant. Her parents sent her away to have the baby and
slowly Phyllis heard less and less from her. When she went to
talk to Kerry's parents, they had moved and she never heard from
Kerry again. Needless to say, Phyllis kept her virtue and slowed
her fast ways. Staying popular by being easy was no way to go.

By her second year in med school she was dating very little
because of her school and job workload. Shane Proctor had come
into the bar where she waitressed and she recognized him as the
handsome guy from her Biology class. He engaged her in
conversation and immediately she was taken with how charming he
was. He came back when she got out and he walked her to her dorm,
stopping for a coffee. For the next few months, they saw each
other every day, even if only briefly between classes. While she
was determined to keep her technical virginity, it became harder
and harder. Shane was an experienced and convincing lover who
drove her to multiple orgasms over and over again with his
fingers and tongue. Eventually one particular weekend in bed
culminated with Shane sucking her engorged clit while his thick
middle finger sawed in and out of her pussy and his pinkie doing
the same in her ass. She could no longer stand the wait and
pushed him away shouting, "Fuck me, just fuck me, PLEASE!"

He accommodated her and thus began an incredible sex life for
her. The mere sight of Shane made her crazy with desire for him
and they satisfied each other in every way. It wasn't long
thereafter in their relationship that she found he was keeping
company with other girls. Her heart broken, she left school to
reorganize her life and transferred to the psychiatric field.
Despite how much he had hurt her, she sometimes longed for her
long nights with him.

At the convention she decided to treat Shane cordially, but with
a cold reserve. She was happy to see him and she wanted to
eventually remain friends if only in order to co-exist in the
medical world. During the first break he tried to act as nothing
had ever happened between them and she would have none of that.

"Phyl, find us a spot to land and I'll go get us a couple coffees
and a bite." Shane said pointing to a large non-smoking lounge
area set up for breaks and lunches.

"I'll get my own coffee and snack and find a place to review my
notes." She answered coldly as she walked past him into one of
the coffee lines.

With her notes in arm she was walking to find a place to land and
enjoy her coffee and Danish when Shane approached her again.

"So THAT'S how it's going to be? Just cordial acquaintances? Love
affairs don't always work out Phyl. You wanted to settle down,
and I still liked to play. I loved you too much to tell you to
your face that I ran around and might never settle down. I'm
sorry for that and I'm sorry you found out I wasn't true the way
you did. But I'm not sorry you found out. You deserved so much
better than me." Shane said in a particularly convincing contrite
tone of voice.

"I just hope you never get your heart ripped from your body like
you did mine, Shane. It was the deepest hurt I've ever had. You
could have made it easier. Not only did I lose a lover, I lost
respect for the person I respected and trusted most in the
world." She said as she saw a wall bench with fold down shelf and
sat.

Shane sat right beside her and she quickly pulled the shelf down
between them and set her coffee and notes on it. It served as a
way to separate herself from him and show the wall she had put
up.

"So, this is it? Be friendly, but cut me off socially, make me
some sort of pariah?" He said as she sipped her coffee and pored
over her notes as if he weren't sitting there.

He leaned over to speak so only she could hear.

"I could have kept it hidden longer. I could have strung you out
for the whole school year, but you were too good to be treated
like that. I let you down the only way I knew how, because I
LOVED you. But I never could be what you wanted." Shane insisted.

Without looking up from what she was doing she calmly said. "Oh?
Loved me? What a nice way of showing it."

Lowering his whisper he said "I DID love you and you loved me and
I have the memories of us together to prove it. You don't think I
replay our times together, the trips, the talks, the SEX? You
don't think I relive you on your knees in front of me sucking my
cock like it was the font of life, or me doing the same to your
pussy? How about you sitting on me, our hands intertwined while
you bounced on my cock? I never took those times for granted."

Phyllis turned beet red and wanted to run from him now, but her
clit suddenly perked up and her pussy watered while her face
flushed.
"That's SO inappropriate, talking like that, Shane!" She said
turning her face from his.

"I know, but I want YOU to know that I know what I lost when I
turned my back on your love and cheated. I wanted to tell you
that I could change, but I couldn't lie to you." Shane said still
leaning into her ear.

"Wait, are you making a play for me now? Do you want me to just
leave my husband because YOU say YOU'RE READY?" She said trying
to whisper, but losing her temper.

"NO, NO, NO! Of course not. I had my chance for you and I threw
it away. I chased and screwed around with as many women as I
could, but you were the one I knew I should have stayed with, but
it just isn't me. Now I'm 35 and still chasing skirts trying to
be contented one day at a time." He said admitting what haunted
him.

Phyllis' eyes were welling with tears as her body yearned for the
way Shane played it so many years ago. She could not speak in
response to him.

"Why don't you go in and freshen up, dry your eyes and compose
yourself for the next session? That is, if you still want to sit
with me." Shane said in his typical, thoughtful, yet charming
manner.

"Of course I do!" She replied as she got up and headed for the
Ladies Room, telling Shane to wait for her. She stopped and came
back to him and he stood to see what the matter was.

"After all the heartbreak, the tears, the nights I spent hoping
you would just disappear from the face of the earth, I can still
call you my friend. A rat bastard as a boyfriend, but a friend.
Just the couple hours we've spent today shows me that deep inside
you lies the friend I first knew that blossomed into a love
affair. We can't redo the love affair, but I still want you as a
friend." She said through a few tears. "Now, let me freshen up."
When she went into the Ladies Room it wasn't the tears she needed
to dry, it was her panties. As much as she didn't want to admit
it, his description of their sex touched a place inside her that
hadn't been tapped for a long while. The sex with her husband was
great, but sex with Shane was magnificent!

She wiped her pussy dry and put in a light day pad to keep from
embarrassing herself later. In a few minutes she was walking up
the hallway with Shane for the next session.

Once they settled they were both quiet while they listened to the
Q & A session. As it wound down Shane leaned over to her and
asked if he could buy her lunch.

"No, I'll expense my own, but we can eat together if you want."
She said, not wanting to get close to him thinking it was a date.

"Oh sure!" He answered, seeing the way it had to be.

Over lunch they caught up with each other's professional careers
and personal lives. By the end of lunch it was apparent that
Philly had softened her stance on opening up to Shane. Her body
language had changed dramatically from earlier. She caught
herself touching his arm, smiling and winking to him as the day
moved forward. At the end of the day's meetings the "friend"
Shane was back in her life and she felt like a college girl
again.

He asked her to dinner, but she said she had to call home and
talk to her husband and see how things were. She had phone calls
to return, patients she needed to check status of, plus she
wanted to shower and get the convention room smell from her
clothes and hair.

By the time 7 o'clock rolled around she was through with the
things she needed to do and felt hungry and got dressed to go get
a bite. She chose a light fabric pink dress that would keep her
cool in the heat since she had decided to dine in the casual
restaurant at the hotel, The Atrium. As she walked past the
packed bar and lounge area she could see it was a meat market for
the local women, hoping to net a doctor, and of course attached
and unattached MD's were eating it up.

She was just waiting for the hostess to bring her to a table when
she heard the tic-tac of shoes racing her way. She turned and it
was Shane.

"I thought you were going to forego dinner, or was it just me you
wanted to forego?" He said smiling, hoping to get an honest
answer.

"No" she laughed, "I just didn't know how long I would be and I
didn't want to hold you up."

"Am I too late to buy you dinner, or would you rather eat alone.
. . . I'll understand ,  . . really." He asked tentatively.

"We both have expense accounts and I would rather pay for my own,
but if you would like to join me I'd love the company." She said
smiling.

Having changed into a Polo and nice fitting jeans, Shane looked
nice out of his coat and tie. It was a look that was not lost on
Philly. When he excused himself to go to the Men's room, blaming
the beer he had earlier, Philly flushed as she watched him walk
away. She admitted to herself that Shane was still beefcake to
her eyes and she wished she had kept the pad in her panties.
During the rest of dinner she resisted thinking about him in a
sexual way, but it was hard.

He walked her to the elevator and said, "Don't take this the
wrong way, but I've got a bottle of wine in the room and a guy I
know at Rainbow Media out here gave me a copy of a new movie "My
Big Fat Greek Wedding", um . . . . supposed to be real funny,
that starts in theaters next month. Would you like to . . . . .no
strings, really."

Philly was intrigued by his invitation and the thought of getting
a little closer to him just to get some masturbation fodder for
later made her say OK. He had a small suite with a living room
and a sofa and while she sat down he put in the movie and poured
wine.

They laughed and cajoled each other during the movie, she being
careful not to drink too much wine, he hoping she didn't notice
how many times he glanced to see her laugh.

It was just passed 10 when Philly said "We better break this up,
another long day of speakers tomorrow. Thanks, Shane, for the
day. It was nice getting reacquainted."

"Sure, it was nice for me too. Thanks." He said as he leaned over
to kiss her cheek.

But she turned her lips to him and they kissed, both of them
pulling away quick, knowing they shouldn't.  She was about to get
up when his scent made her go in for one more. He didn't seem to
kiss back at first but she persisted and their lips locked.

"God, this feels so GOOD!" Philly thought to herself as she
pressed her mouth to him even harder and pushed her tongue to
him. That was the only cue Shane needed to kiss back, and kiss
back hard. All of a sudden it was necking, fierce necking, and
then Philly pulled away fast.

"God, NO! I can't do this. I'm married and I love my husband!"

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Of course not!"

"Why can't we go a little further and not tell him THAT either?
This feels so right." Shane said as he slid to the floor and
hugged his face to her knees.

"Noooooo, Shane" She whined while not making any effort to thwart
him besides tightening her knees together.

"If I part these knees I'll bet there's just a little piece of
cotton separating your little pink pussy and my mouth." He
sing-songed with a laugh at the end while he fit a knee in each
hand between his thumb and forefinger.

"Nooooo, Shane. I SHOULDN'T be doing this." She said leaning back
in exasperation, while letting her knees be pulled open.

Shane pushed her little dress up till his thumbs pressed at her
hip bone and the rest of his hand wrapped the side of her waist
he pulled her torso toward him.

"Oh Godddd SHANE! I shouldn't be doing this. YOU shouldn't be
doing this!" She said as he pulled aside the soaking wet gusset
of her panty.

"It looks so delicious!" He said as he blew softly between her
legs.

"Eat me, Shane. You bad boy, eat me and make me crazy like you
always did!"

Shane needed no further prodding as he pulled her even closer to
his mouth and he slurped up all of her juices and sucked at her
clit. He plunged a finger in her and pushed it just behind her
clit keeping pressure from both sides of the hot little fuse.

Her ass began to almost bounce on the sofa looking like she might
be trying to dislodge him or push it harder to his face. He knelt
up straighter and slid his hands under the balls of her ass,
holding her quim to his face while the tips of both middle
fingers met at her asshole as he softly squeezed her pretty ass.
Finally she could take no more as she let out a muffled guttural
report and she covered his face with her cream and whatever it is
a women ejaculates from her g-spot.

Both her hands went between her legs as she moaned in post
orgasmic bliss. At one point she pushed her panties off and began
to wipe her pussy and between her ass, drying what she had shot
out. Her feet were on the carpet now and she was half way
slouched off the sofa when she felt pressure on the sofa beside
her. She opened her eyes to see the bulge, complete with wet
spot, of the front of Shane's jeans.

"Oh Nooooo, Shane. I've been bad enough already. Oh GOD!" she
said as she reached out and rubbed the bulge.

She knew she wanted to take him out, but knew what would happen
if she did, and she wanted it.

She reached out and rubbed the bulge again and even leaned up and
kissed it before she started shaking her head, back and forth.

"So wrong, so wrong, but I want it so bad" She repeated as she
continually shook her head no.

Then she reached for his belt and undid it, unsnapped his jeans
and slowly pulled down the zipper. Tears formed at the corner of
her eyes as she repeated. "So bad, I'm so bad." Still shaking her
head.

Shane reached down and ran his hand over her hair, petting it.
"You're not bad, you're just enjoying yourself, fulfilling
needs."

"Shane I want this soooo bad, please help me."

"Prove to yourself how bad you want it. Take it out. You're not
bad, you're sweet."

She peeled back the flaps of his jeans and pulled the waist band
away pushing everything down below his balls. She cried more
tears as her little fingers touched and held him. She looked up
at him and then brought her mouth to the tip and covered the
head.

Philly thrust her mouth as far over him as she could fit to get
every bit of man taste she could from him, then she gently slid
her mouth over and over the head and just behind on the shaft.
Her eyes closed, she was in another place as she sucked him,
holding his ass in her hands.

It didn't take long for Shane to begin to breath heavy and puff.

"You can have my cum, but I want to fuck you, just one more time.
You know how we liked it." Shane said in a whisper.

Philly let him fall from her mouth and slid to the floor on her
knees. She pulled her dress up over her head and tossed it aside
before unhooking her bra and letting it fall. She fell forward
and crossed her arms to lay her head in the crux, while leaving
her ass up in the air.

In the meantime Shane had taken his pants the rest of the way of
and knelt behind Philly running his hands up over her back and
then down around to pinch and squeeze her nipples. He kissed her
back and then knelt up straight. He lined his cock up between the
well trimmed furry lips of her sex hole and plunged in. He held
himself tight to her bottom cheeks while she swooned at the
intrusion. When he began to move he quickly began to jackhammer
at her, a move she apparently liked as she let out a long hum
accentuated only by force behind her.

"MmmmmmmmMMMM, MmmmmmmmMMMM, MmmmmmmMMMM." Was her steady mantra
as he plowed her. It was a fuck she would feel all the next day
and apparently she liked that.

"You're so fucking tight, I'm GONNA CUM!" Shane cried out and
Philly instantly fell forward off him, then turned and scrambled
for the tip of his cock.

The first stream flew into the air and hit her just below her
breasts as she moved her mouth to him. A second jet hit her chin
before she could fit her mouth over him and suck out the last he
had to give. When she could get no more from him she lifted her
mouth and sprawled forward and dropped her face upon the sofa,
almost seeming to pass out.

"I'm an awful person for what I just did." Philly said when she
opened her eyes and say Shane lying on the carpet with his back
against the front of the sofa, his face just inches from hers.
"But, I'm not sorry it happened."

"Blame me, I pressured you." He said hanging his head.

"No, if I didn't want it to happen, it wouldn't have. My protests
were to my conscience, not you."  She sighed.

Philly brought herself to her feet and looked for her panties and
bra, putting them on as she found them. She picked up her dress
and searched for the armholes.

"Don't go, stay the night." He protested.

"Nothing else is going to happen." She said sternly.

"No, I know. I just have the feeling a lot of guilt is going to
make it a long night for you. I can be your sounding board, your
buffer." Shane insisted.

"I'm OK Shane. If this had something to do with love, I would be
torn up. This was pleasure with someone I trusted. Oh, I'll feel
guilt, and I should. But this goes no further." She said,
sounding a bit sad.

"I never want to be the reason for two people to break up." He
almost whispered as emotion came over him.

"You won't Shane, and it's nice to see you've developed some sort
of conscience for your lifestyle." Philly remarked as she walked
towards the door and Shane got up to see her out.

"God, I smell like sweat and cum. Is there any in my hair?
Although I don't suppose there will be anyone else on the
elevator at one o'clock in the morning." She mused.

"Good night, see you at the breakfast at 8?" He asked.

"OK, meet me in the hallway down there." She agreed and closed
the door behind her.

Chapter 10
Refreshed by sleep and a hot shower Philly was glad she wasn't
torn apart by guilt. She knew she still loved her husband and
held nothing more than a sexual connection to Shane Proctor. She
was glad she hadn't woken with him as she scanned the queue of
people waiting outside the breakfast area. He didn't seem to be
down yet and she scanned each elevator arrival looking for him.
Finally, just when she was about to give up after waiting near 10
minutes, he came off one car with a young redhead he was engaging
in conversation.

Philly waved and headed in to find a seat, not wishing to witness
Shane set up another date. However he was just behind her when
she sat. There were cups and carafe's of coffee and a menu with
three choices of breakfasts. Fruit and scones, Eggs, any style,
with meat, and Eggs, any style, without meat. A waitress rushed
to the new arrivals and took their order as Shane remarked how it
was a fast and efficient way to serve 400 people hot breakfast.

As they sipped coffee, seeming to avoid each other's eyes Shane
finally spoke up.

"Your husband is a very lucky man."

"How so?"

"Well, if I may get brutally personal . . . . ."

She leaned over to him and whispered low, "I had your penis
coated with my pussy and your cum in my mouth not 12 hours ago.
We've gotten brutally personal."

"You're very good at sex, you bring out the animal in a man."

"I was pretty innocent when I met you, I believe it's you who's
the expert."

"No, seriously, I don't have THAT effect on other woman, and I
certainly don't get that kind of . . . . uh . . pleasure, with
anyone else."

"If you're looking for a repeat, you can stop the flattery now.
NOT happening!" She whispered emphatically.

"No, definitely not! We did something beautiful with each other
last night that can't be repeated. In case you're wondering, that
was NEVER my intention.  It just happened."

"I'll take you at your word at that. Now let's drop the subject."

 Suddenly Philly was startled awake by the ringing of the phone.
She tried to wipe the cobwebs from her dream of Shane Proctor and
realize where she was. She saw the time as 7:00 a.m. and reached
for the phone, then discovering it was her cell phone, not home
phone.

"Phil, answer that!" Charlie wailed from the other side of the
bed just as Philly clicked on.

"Philly it's Patti! You're getting me into trouble at Christian
Hospital! I had a call this morning that if continued to ask
questions they would complain to the practice. I said I was just
socializing and she interrupted me with a loud "END IT, you don't
want to get involved" and slammed the phone down."

"Sorry if I got you in hot water, just do as they say and stay
away from anyone you questioned for a few days. Make it obvious
you aren't interested and were just gossiping.
I'll cover for you with the practice." Philly told her.

Philly would love to know who called Patti, although she
suspected it was Shelly Peters. One thing was for sure, there is
a constant watch on who asks questions about Jack Spagner. 
Obviously Emory Richards knew something and someone was helping
protect secrets. The State Medical Examiners Review Panel must
have a file on each of them and although she couldn't access
them, she could ask Shane Proctor to review them with the
evidence she might have. She hoped to hear from Shane soon.

Charlie had gotten up to pee after being awakened by the phone
and stayed in the bath to shower, as it was close to their
regular 7:15 alarm. Philly peeled back the covers and realized
she was naked from the night before romp. As she began to roll
out she hit a large cold wet spot and jumped because it was
obviously not still cum from the night before. There was a large,
12 inch or more, circle of wetness under her and she wondered if
she peed. Then she remembered her dream, playing out her affair
with Shane. She blushed, but smiled to herself that the memory
would still elicit such reaction.

Forty five minutes later, with a piece of toast in one hand and a
coffee in the other she stood in front of the TV to get the days
weather. She finished the last bite of toast and was quaffing
coffee so as to leave and be at Hampden for the days appointments
when her cell rang once again.

"I thought when we got together in San Diego we decided we could
work together professionally, and it took you almost 8 years to
call me?" Shane said without even a hello.

"Hey, you have a phone too, Shane" She retorted.

"I was afraid if I called you it might look like a booty call."
He joked.

"That's not funny, but I understand your thinking. That was a
wonderful night and in many ways I don't regret it, but I'm sure
you understand the ways I do." She answered curtly.

"Tell me Shane, where does your schedule bring you today?"

"I'm just outside Edison right now, I have a meeting at 9 a.m. in
Milford and have to be back in Trenton at 1:00 o'clock then I've
got a shock visit with a team to a hospital at 4. Obviously I
can't say where." He said.

"Anywhere near Jersey City at 3:00 this afternoon?" She asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I could be, why?"

"I really need to talk to you about a potential problem, one
that, if true, could be huge.
Ummm, I sort of trapped you, . . . . you're going to Christian
Hospital, aren't you."

"I can't tell you yes or no, but please don't mention this call
to anyone, OK?"

"Remember the Skyway Diner?" She asked.

"Yes, it's right on my route."

"I know, I'll meet you there at 3:00, OK?"

Except for a few casual waves in passing at medical facilities,
they hadn't seen each other since San Diego. Philly was surprised
to see Shane already seated in a booth when she got there.

 "How are you, so good to see you." Shane said as he got up and
waited for her to sit, always the gentleman.

"I'm well, Shane. Always good to see you. I'm hoping you can help
me out. There's a story that is just going to break nationally,
and it's really quite unbelievable, literally."

With those words Philly began to tell Shane the whole story of
Selena and Joe and how they got out alive and survived the last 9
years. When Philly got to the part about possible stonewalling by
Shelley Peters, Shane stopped her.

"Wait! You're not jerking me around; you don't have any inside
information on why we're going there today?" He said looking at
her incredulously.

"No, why?" She asked taken aback by the accusation.

"Emory Richards has petitioned the board to take him off
probation and get his suspension wiped from his record. In our
investigation we wanted to see how he and
Jack Spagner fared since their altercation, . . . umm" He said
fumbling through papers in his folder till he found the  one with
the term he sought, . . .  " in an open patient area putting
staff and clients in danger"

"Now this is strictly confidential Philly, swear on everything we
ever meant to each other you'll keep it that way . . . ." He said
as she nodded and touched his hand.
"In every incident report from the last 10 years, Jack Spagner's
name has been redacted and most anything he and Richards worked
on together is not in the electronic file, only in the manual
file, and that is kept in Ms. Peter's desk. When she is
questioned about it she puts an SD card in her computer that
suddenly fills the missing holes. You can see the records, but
only in her presence." He said with a quizzical look on his face.

"You DO know that she and Spagner live together and she is
Richards's step-sister." She asked.

"Oh, I didn't know they were a couple. THAT must be awkward. I
knew she was his step-sister." He said.

"Why is this Dr. Richards suddenly hot to get his name off
probation?" Philly wondered aloud.

"There's an opening at Hackensack General for an ER Chief of
Staff. He's more than qualified, and by everything we see, a very
good doctor. If he was clean, we were going to wipe his record
and recommend him, and this whole Spagner cover-up thing sprouted
from it all. It really shouldn't affect Richards in the long
run." Shane said casually.

Philly near jumped out of the booth at him, grabbing both arms
just above his wrists.

"You've GOT to question him on what I've shown you!! He KNOWS
something about all of this stuff with Spagner, that's what the
fight was over, and something to do with the Jane Doe transfers
and a Jane Doe's baby!"

"Hey, calm down, I can't go and accuse him of something based on
your circumstantial evidence, especially when I'm going there to
tell him his record is now clean and will probably get the
Hackensack job." Shane said dismissing her. "It's bad enough I
have to go into the hospital to meet with this Peter's woman
under the pretense of questioning an employee just to make sure
she stays there today, so we can arrest her."

"Arrest her? For what?"

"Falsifying records, basically. We don't condone it." He said
with a sarcastic smile.

"So you're going to show up, you, and a hit team, with a cop?"

"A couple State Troopers." He reiterated.

"You can't make false accusation of Emory Richards, but how about
you all show up in Peter's office and I ask to have Richards
paged and no one says anything. When he shows up and see's you
guys, the Statey, and me, he's going to figure it's about this
case I've been asking around about. If I tell him, before any of
you say anything that he can walk away clean if he spills his
guts. I don't think he'll call my bluff." Philly offered.

"Suppose he tells you something prosecutable?" Shane asked,
checking his watch.

 "Unless it's rape or murder, how far can you turn your head, and
what about statute of limitations." Philly wondered.

"Mmmmm, if a crime was committed against either of your patients,
they were unable to testify for the limitations period. Could be
that a DA might go after it.

"What if he just tells me and you never hear it? I really think
he's only guilty of covering things up." Philly pleaded.

"Let me head over to Christian and I'll conference with a few
people, police and our lawyers. DON'T GO ANY FURTHER THAN THE
LOBBY. I'll look for you there. Don't say ANYTHING to ANYBODY!"
Shane said sternly.

"Don't worry, I don't want this to blow up anymore than you do."
She said shaking her head at his dramatics.

Philly grabbed the check and told Shane to leave so he wouldn't
be late. She spent the drive over to the Hospital running over
scenarios in her head. For some reason she thought Emory Richards
might be a sympathetic character if he were cornered. He seemed
compassionate to the Hansen's when Shelly had acted reluctant to
give out information on "Sue Johnson". He was obviously well
versed in emergency procedures and was a good surgeon which was
obvious by his potential hiring in Hackensack. She doubted he
would do anything stupid to jeopardize his career, which seemed
to be taking off. Unless she was reading it wrong, Dr. Emory
Richards was protecting Jack Spagner for the sake of his
step-sisters happiness, and to cover any possible accusations
that he might be an accessory to anything Spagner may have done.

At 4:15  APN Phyllis Flowers sat in the main lobby of Christian
Hospital. She had been there for almost 20 minutes of fidgeting
and checking her watch worrying she may have missed Shane Proctor
and the group he was to be with. She had checked her cell phone
once again for a missed call and to be sure she had bars enough
to get service. Paranoia was getting the best of her until she
saw the tops of the large hats New Jersey State Police wear. They
were coming up the stairs with 4 other men in suits, one of them
being Shane Proctor. As she stood to meet them Shane said
something to them as a group and they stood down as Shane went
over to Philly.

"I teleconferenced with 4 of the board and based on my trust in
you and your judgment, we won't pursue Richards on anything
unless he committed crimes himself, besides the covering for
others, as long as you feel he is going to make full disclosure.
His exchange of information to you precludes us from
investigating that case any further. However, he should be made
aware that if he is an accomplice to Shelly Peters' crime,
besides turning his head to it; we can't help him, unless he
wants to testify against his step-sister. Right now Emory
Richards is in her office, with her expecting to sign a
recommendation for an employee transfer, and he assuming it's the
Hackensack job.
It's imperative that you command the situation without a word
coming from us. We might LOOK to be all together, but we can't be
part of what you're doing. The State Police investigator
recommends you approach him directly and say "You KNOW why I'm
here. Come with me and we'll talk."....... you then promptly
escort him to another room. Once you both leave, the State Police
will charge Ms. Peters and arrest her. We'll all leave and go
before a magistrate and we'll waive bail due to the nature of the
crime. The State Medical Examiners Review Panel will take charge
of all of the records of the hospital and then work to restore
them to their original form. All future access to the files must
be cleared through the panel. We don't know how hospital
administration will react to all of this. We have kept everything
very quiet to assure there was no leakage or collusion. I've got
smoothing and schmoozing to do once they take her out."

"So what leverage do I have?" Philly asked.

"He doesn't have the job at Hackensack yet, we haven't lifted his
probation. Listen Phil, any crimes that you think may have been
committed are going to be very hard to prosecute due to the time
that has passed. We don't feel any way a judge would ever bother
to hear the case." Shane told her knowing they were words she
didn't want to hear.

"So that's why I'm questioning him and not you or the police, and
why he doesn't need a lawyer present." Philly said, exhaling
deeply.

"Exactly, you have no authority but the State Police Investigator
saw what you've given me and he thinks if you look like part of
the team he may crack. Remember, and he should be made aware of
this, I can hold the key to his getting the job. I have no good
reason to lift his probation. Remember, when we went to look at
his record, we discovered Michelle Peters crime, and he may be
involved in that. That suspicion alone is enough to keep him on
probation. I know you're passionate about all of this you have
going on, but evidence-wise, it's nothing because it's so stale.
I know you think this Spagner character is guilty of something,
but you'll just have to take heart in the fact that he is going
down for the same crime as Peters as we speak." Shane said with a
little smirk on his face.

"He is?" She asked.

"Yes, as soon as I give the go-ahead there is a team at Felsen to
arrest him." Shane said with a wink.

"All of this for falsifying records?" Philly said thinking it was
overkill for the crime committed.

Shane leaned over and whispered to her, "Someone made insurance
claims and skimmed money. We think we know who, and who didn't
know. I can't say more. We don't want this out yet. Understand?"

She gave him an all-knowing nod as Shane turned and began to lead
the team to the elevators. Suddenly she became a little afraid
that she may be in deeper than she had bargained. It became clear
to her that she was to give the impression that she was a part of
The State Medical Examiners Review Panel, but never say it.

The six men and one woman entourage got off the elevator and
walked directly to the office labeled ADMINISTRATION, Records,
Public Relations, Information. With Hospital cut-backs these
offices had been merged into one office and the 7 strode through
while the receptionist protested. They opened the door and the
contented smiles of Emory Richards and Michelle Peters fell
quickly. No one said a word and Shane turned to Nurse Flowers,
nodding.

Philly stepped forward and said to Emory Richards, "I think you
KNOW why I'm here for you today. Let's go someplace where we can
talk."


Shelley Peters stood up and seemed relieved they weren't there to
speak to her, or so she thought as she said, "There Emory," she
said pointing to a door off her office, "the conference room
should be free."

Emory Richards nervously stood and went to the door with Philly
right behind. He opened the door to reveal a large conference
table in an otherwise empty room, besides a small pantry with
refrigerator. He turned and looked at Philly, his brow furrowed
and his eyes troubled.

"I guess we can sit here?" He said, his voice almost choking.

Phyllis Flowers began her bluff and waited to see if she could
hook Emory Richards.

"We've done a lot of investigating and went over a lot of the
records from 9/11/2001 and thereafter and found a lot of
interesting things about you and your partner on the ambulance
that day. You know that the woman, Selena Hanson Johnson is fully
recovered both mentally and physically, as well as her husband,
the man who dropped her off to you that day. It will become a
major news story, The 2 who walked away from the Towers.
How do think that is going to affect your job, your probation,
and your chances of getting another job as a doctor?"

Emory's face turned ashen and he sat back hard, his eyes seeming
on the verge of tearing up. He put his face into his hands and
was obviously thinking, trying to think of a way out of this maze
he had been thrown into.

"I may have turned my head to a lot of things that happened; let
things I could have controlled get out of control, but I didn't
DO anything besides stupidly keep my mouth shut." He said as
tears began to stream out of his eyes, and then his face turned
red and he grit his teeth.

"All to protect that ASSHOLE who lives with my sister! God DAMN
him! I covered for him once when I thought she was going to die
anyway, but then it snowballed and he kept throwing it in my face
that I could get in as much trouble covering up in the first
place."

Phyllis Flowers was proud of herself, now that she felt secure
that the hook as firmly in Emory Richards. Now she had to begin
to reel him in.

"Come clean and I can make sure that your probation is lifted and
you get The State Medical Examiners Review Panel recommendation
for the job at Hackensack General. One codicil though, if I think
you're lying, or you trip over a fact I know to be true, we go
back out there with the others. In other words, cooperate with me
and I'll do all I can to help you." Philly said.

"I don't believe you can do that." He said suddenly doubting her.

"I can as long as it's just me and you in here. You just have to
do two things to insure things will go your way. Come clean about
everything that went on with Selena, and tell me that you've
committed no crimes besides turning your head and covering up for
others." Philly said confidently.

"How can you . . . . . ." Emory started to say but trailed off as
emotions took over.

"Emory! We're in here alone! I'm not recording anything, no one
else will hear. It's WHY we came in here alone. I need only say
ONE thing to the Panel; that you cooperated. That should free you
to have your probation revoked. So do you ease your conscience or
not?" Philly said as she began to put papers back into her
briefcase and stand up.

"Don't go out there yet." Emory Richards whispered as emotion and
tears began to choke him up.

"I'm a good person, I really am. I got talked into covering up
for something that didn't seem to make a difference at the time.
We didn't think the woman would live. When Spagner called me back
to the ambulance because she swallowed her tongue . . . . ."

"SLOW DOWN!! Start at the beginning, when she was first brought
to you." Philly asked as she took notes.

"He was frantic to leave and she was in no condition to go any
further. I'm pretty sure she was half dragged the last part of
the way. Her shoes were gone and her feet were bloody. She was in
and out of consciousness and I discovered a huge trauma on the
back of her head. I called the hospital with her vitals and asked
for an air transport, you know, helicopter, but they said all air
travel was grounded and to stabilize her. I began to wonder if
the guy who dropped her had caused the injury. I remembered that
I had broken a rule about containing a situation, I didn't have
any information on the man, nor did I know who she was. She
seemed to be as stable as we could keep her and I could still see
the guy limping away, probably a quarter mile up the road as it
rose towards the Skyway. Moving that slow, I knew I could catch
him fast so I left them, the woman and Spagner, and took a
two-way in case he had a problem. I was gone for maybe 6 or 8
minutes when I got the may-day from Spagner, she was convulsing.
I headed back, running as fast as I could between the stranded
cars and frightened people. Somewhere along the way he shouted
over the radio that she had swallowed her tongue and he had no
response. He was contemplating cutting open her airway when I got
there, but I dislodged her tongue right away and gave her oxygen.
Her clothing was all open, Spagner said he was going to use the
paddles to revive her, stupid ass. I got her warm and breathing
but it sounded like she had some sort of blockage. I used an
aspiration device, suction, to clear a large wad of mucus and
like white grainy stuff, all I could think of was ground up
dry-wall. Then her breathing seemed clearer, but she seemed in a
coma, I wondered if she were brain-dead.

We didn't get the traffic untangled for another 2 or 3 hours, she
was no better, no worse. Heart and blood pressure normal, but no
other responses. Once we finally got going Spagner drove and I
stayed with her. I knew from talking with the emergency room that
they were bogged down and I was supposed to triage and assist
that night anyway, part of my interning, so I started an
admission form under a Jane Doe listing everything that we knew.
I knew the blow to the back of her head would probably be the
cause of her death, I just imagined clots waiting to shut her
down once she was moved.

We wheeled her right in and a team was waiting for us and I
stayed to finish admission while all hell broke loose around the
gurney. A doctor I had worked with before told me to glove and
gown and get ready to go to surgery, they were short. I quickly
washed and did what he asked as they wheeled her into the trauma
room.

They told me to grab a catheterization kit and take care of that.
As I was catheterizing her I discovered semen in her vagina. I
knew that animal Spagner had done something horrible. I should
have thrown him in right then, but I was afraid I might be
implicated as well. I said nothing. When I caught up with him
later he admitted he had raped her saying "she was too pretty to
leave alone, and she was going to die anyway." She became a pet
project of mine from that point and I watched her carefully, but
she was out of it, mostly. It was like a wakened coma. She ate
some, but her eyes rarely moved and she acknowledged almost
nothing. One day I read her chart and saw she had been vomiting
up her breakfast. I held my breath and did a pregnancy stick in
her catheter pouch and got the positive. I flipped out on Spagner
and even told my sister, who had just moved in with him. She said
she didn't care since it happened before she started going out
with him. I couldn't convince her it was a character flaw, how
stupid is that?

Spagner wanted to transfer her to Felsen, but not for the right
reasons. He wanted to abort her baby. I called his brother
directly and told him that if that took place at Felsen he could
count on me reporting an abortion after the 1st trimester there.
He could lose the State Charter to exist as a medical facility if
I did. I did agree to transfer her there for brain studies and to
keep her "out of it" until the baby was delivered. I shuffled
Jane Doe numbers and charts so that if you tried to trace the
Jane Doe, now known to us as Sue Johnson, you couldn't find her
at Felsen." Richards said after a long unloading of his
conscience.

"You didn't shuffle her too well. I was able to trace her there
and back to Christian and can even tell you the numbers you used
to cover. That's one of the reasons we're here talking now."
Philly said while not looking him in the face for fear she could
not resist the urge to batter him right there with her fists.

"It was just before she went to Felsen that I exploded at Jack
Spagner in the solarium of the 7th floor. I had a few months of
pent up rage at the situation and every time I saw him I thought
of him rutting on the lifeless body of this woman in the
ambulance. In my mind that was the reason she swallowed her
tongue and caused most of her problems. I knocked out a few of
his teeth, broke a couple ribs, and blackened both of his eyes. I
also damaged a few pieces of the furniture in the room and caused
a panic among the patients and visitors there. I didn't emerge
unscathed, I had a broken nose and a bruised kidney, as well as
lots of other problems caused by a kick in my groin. We were
suspended; just as well, I had broken 5 fingers on his face. Jack
never got his job back; he wasn't much more than a go-fer anyway.
He never got his full EMT." Emory said as he searched for
something to drink for his dry mouth.

Emory Richards could see that Philly Flowers had a clenched jaw
and the hand that wasn't writing was balled into a fist. He
looked to the side and saw the refrigerator.

"There must be water in there, do you mind? He asked.

Without making eye contact she lifted her clenched hand open and
waved in that direction. He went and got a bottle of water, and
one for her as well.

"Get to the baby, I want to hear about the baby." She said
sternly.

"She wasn't aware of much in the last few months of her pregnancy
and Spagner's brother cooperated, making sure she was visited by
physical therapist almost every day to keep her limber, avoid bed
sores, and keep her body toned enough to deliver. She delivered a
6 pound, 4 ounce baby about 3 weeks premature. She had no
problems whatsoever and 3 weeks after she had it I swapped her
out with another Jane Doe at Christian. At the time she was only
on Paxil and something to help her sleep. I knew if I could get
her to become more aware and show no signs of violence, she would
be a perfect candidate for Hampden where she could be weaned off
all of the drugs she had seen so far." Emory continued until
Philly prodded him again.

"The baby, the BABY!" Philly barked firmly.

"The baby came back here as a Jane Doe and she, Selena, was not
aware she had given birth. She probably thought she was having a
bad period or other female problem. If she was aware. . . . ."
Emory continued until a fist slammed down on the table.
"BABY!"

"ALRIGHT! I'm not avoiding it, just making the pieces fit. The
baby came back to Christian as a Jane Doe 2002-056, the 56th Jane
Doe we had on the floor that year. I'll just never forget the
number. She was only one day here before we transferred her to
Catholic Charity Services of New Jersey with the hospital signing
off for the mother as Matris Mortuus. I checked and the baby was
adopted about a month later to an infertile couple waiting for a
newborn in Upstate New York. I have their name written at home
somewhere." Richards said matter-of-factly.

"Wait, no one is supposed to be able to get that information.
Those records are supposed to be sealed. How did you get them?"
Philly wondered, beginning to think he was making this up.

"I knew a Postulant at St. Marian-Maries Convent that used to be
part of the hospital. She helped deliver adoptions as part of her
step to Noviciant. She had a thing for me and wasn't sure if she
had the vocation. She saved the information for me as a trade for
. . . . . . my company. I would say I'm going to hell for it, but
she became a real nun a few years ago, so I guess she wasn't all
that impressed." He said laughing at himself while Philly shook
her head in pity.

"Before they put Selena, or Sue, whatever you call her, back into
our program I recommended her for Hampden because she had been
here a almost a year, supposedly on chemical and drug therapy,
with no results as I wrote in my brief. She fit into their
program well and was there until you got her out." Emory
explained to finish.

"Was the fact she was from the Towers attack left out of your
notes intentionally to keep people from looking for her, to cover
for the rape?" Philly asked. "If they had said they had a person
from the Tower attack with no ID they would have found her a lot
sooner."

"I guess it was always assumed in my early notes, I never really
checked and reread any of them until the day her parents were
here. If you saw the Jane Does who get checked into the female
ward on 7 you would see how she fit right into the spaced out,
drug infested, poor things that end up there. Also, one showing
up pregnant is not an oddity either." Emory added to his mea
culpa.

"Too bad there wasn't a DNA test on the baby, to link it to Jack
Spagner." Philly said as she was closing her note pad.

"I have one, in the DNA bank and freezer downstairs. It's stored
as part of a family baseline experiment, ya know where we all
have different DNA, but you and all your siblings have the same
markings down the helix to one point and no other family would
have those. I kept it there to maybe sink Spagner someday, if I
had to. Now is as good a time as any." Emory said with a leer.

"Are you sure?" She asked, not quite believing he could have had
such access.
"I'm positive, I took it myself. I was there for the delivery. I
didn't trust Spagner. If she had went C-section I was afraid he
might do something stupid, since he couldn't cover that scar. I
was scrubbed and in the room. He didn't see me. I was standing
under the interns balcony. I saw his reflection in the other
glass. When they cut her to make the delivery easier, he pounded
his fists on the glass and the attending physician looked up and
shook his head at him. There was something going on between them,
but the doctor did the right thing." Emory recalled.

"That scar was the first clue I got. I was suspicious before, but
when I heard of that scar I did a little detective work." Philly
said as she packed up her things.

"So, I'm free to go and finish up with them in Shelley's office?"
Emory said as he stood, a man relieved.

"There's no one out there, they were here to arrest your
step-sister for falsifying records, altering records, and a
laundry list of other little bookkeeping infractions." She told
him.

"SHIT! They should have arrested Spagner! HE'S the one who
coerced her, had her do that stuff!" Richards said, surprised at
the arrest.

"Don't worry, they got him too!" She told him smiling.

"So why was I there, and you?" He wondered.

"We, both of us, just happened to be in the room. They never said
a word to you, only I spoke. But, I can tell them that you were
forthcoming and honest, and contrite as well. I think you'll be
going to the position at Hackensack. Unless they throw you in
that mess." Philly said.

"No, they can't. I had nothing to do with that." Emory Richards
said, obviously relieved.

"I hope you're right. Now, I'm not leaving this hospital, and you
won't leave my sight until I get that DNA." She said
determinedly.

"Still don't trust me?"

"I know a woman who lost nine years of her life because you
couldn't be trusted to live up to the oath of a doctor. No matter
what, you could have spoken up sooner." She said snottily to show
her resolve.

They opened the door to the connecting office of Michelle Peters
expecting to find an empty office, and instead they found Brian
DelAire, the CEO of the Hospital, behind the desk of Shelly
Peters with Shane Proctor leaning over his shoulder showing him
the infractions Ms Peters and Jack Spagner were being charged
with.

"Emory, were you aware of the hanky-panky going on here, are you
involved in all of this too?" DelAire asked almost in an
accusatory tone.

Shane looked at Philly who gave him an approving eye-blink and
nod.

"Uhh . . . NO Brian, Emory is clean. He happened to be here in
the office to interview for a job, with Michelle providing
details when we came in.

"I heard you might be leaving us. ER surgeons with your
experience are not easy to come by. I hope you still plan to
practice and not just triage and assign as an ER Chief." DelAire
said keeping half his attention to the explanation of the crime
and Richards leaving.

"Yes Sir, I will always practice, I will be VERY hands on, in my
greens more than a tie, for sure." Emory said as he walked out
the door with Philly.

"What's going to happen to Shelley?" Emory asked, suddenly
worried about his step sister.

"Well, she'll obviously, probably, lose her job unless she throws
Spagner under the bus in some sort of deal. It's not the sort of
thing that would get her any jail time, but probation for sure as
long as she has a clean record. I'm guessing the hospital will
not want her back in a position where she has as much control, if
she stays. The State will waive bail, I do know that." She told
him as they got to the south wing elevator and Emory pushed the
button to go down.

Once the elevator arrived they got on and Emory used a key to
activate 2 grayed out floors, RECORDS, and MORGUE. He pressed
RECORDS and they went down 3 floors with the doors opening to a
desk with an admission door to its right. Behind the desk sat an
older man, maybe 60 or 65 with T. Travis on his badge, who
recognized Emory Richards right away.

"Hey Doc, I heard you guys had Visitors. Nothings left here that
wasn't signed out. What do you need?" He asked.

"DNA Tink. We have to see the DNA vault. Um, Tinker this is
Phyllis Flowers."
Richards said as Tinker nodded to Philly and got up to go to the
door at the right.

"We'll need both our keys to get in there and you'll both need
gloves if you plan on handling anything." Tinker Travis said as
he held the door for them and flipped a switch lighting an entry
to a large steel and glass door.

Tinker put in his key and Doctor Richards added his, and they
opened the door. Inside looked like a miniature filing cabinet
with about 30 drawers. Each drawer was triple locked except for
one off to the side marked STUDIES, NON CLASSIFIED.
"We just need the non-classified stuff Tink. They just want to
see how we handle them, and she's already seen the security."
Emory said, dismissing Tinker.

"These are all fixed samples taken with buccal swabs, put onto a
chemically treated card and they will last virtually forever as
long as they are kept in a dry place, 60-75 degrees." Richards
began to explain to her.

"Oh yes, I take buccal swabs all of the time, I may even have
some kits in my briefcase. I'm familiar on how to handle them."
Philly said nodding.

"All of the others in the triple locked drawers are blood samples
kept frozen. A simple drop of blood from the sample can be taken
100's of times for study and make perfect DNA samples for study.
I have 2 cards of Baby Jane Doe 2001-191 and each has an alias on
them that only I know, just to make sure no prying eyes found
them and wanted to destroy them. One is Cher Ubeam, and the other
is Sarah Phim." Emory told Philly as Tinker got out of ear-shot.

"Oh, angels cherubim and seraphim! Clever, am I going to be able
to take one?"
Philly asked.

"Yes, there is no control on these. If things get real
interesting or real sticky, I DO have a blood sample, but the
swab will prove positive heredity." Emory said as he flipped
through the glassine envelopes and pulled one.

"Put this in your briefcase and have it tested as soon as you
can. I don't think it can go stale very fast, but to be sure . .
. . ." Emory said as he slipped it to her.

"What name is the blood sample under?" Philly asked as she took
out her notes.

"Ummm . . . for me to know, for MY protection. Please
understand." Emory said as Philly nodded in understanding.

"Wait, you'll need one more card, the one for Jack Spagner."
Richards said as Philly appeared to be closing up her briefcase
again.

"No, the police will get one from him today; it'll be part of the
no-bail agreement. As much as you've cooperated today, I only
have your word that this is the baby's DNA, but Spagner's I can
be sure of, if they get it today." Philly said regretting that
she had to intimate that she didn't fully trust him yet.

"Fair enough, I can understand that." He said as he closed the
drawer and she clicked the locks on her briefcase.

"Nothing in, nothing out, Doc?" Tinker said as he stood and
relocked the vault door with Dr. Richards.

"Just a look-see, Tink. Thanks for your help." Emory said as he
walked past and Philly nodded thanks to him as well.

"He's a trusting soul." Philly said under her breath, as the
elevator came.

"When they need blood DNA they need 3 keys and one of them is
usually accompanied by a court order or law enforcement, so it's
a big deal. 99 percent of the swab cards are part of experiments
and tests for interns and like that. The family tree swabs are
something I was part of from the start so I have pretty much free
access to them. There's no real ID to them, we just look at them
characteristically. Even to ADD blood DNA you need 3 keys and a
numbered sign in form and no one even turns their head once a
drawer is open, plus it's all videotaped."  He said as the
elevator zoomed back up.

"Interesting. Were we taped today?" She wondered.

"No, Tinker has to hit a switch for it and he never did. He
usually doesn't bother unless it's someone besides me or they are
getting blood. It does capture 1 second every minute anyway, so
there is no cheating." Emory said as they arrived back on the
admin floor.

"So, am I free to go about my business?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, just as much as ever. I think you can expect to see your
probation lifted and for the review panel to recommend you for
the Hackensack job. Just keep in mind that I do not work for The
State Medical Examiners Review Panel, the New Jersey State
Police, or any other governing body of law for medical practice."
She reiterated before the two parted.

At this point in the day she just wanted to get home and relax.
It had been a long and stressful, but a fruitful day as far as
gathering information. She turned around and pushed the elevator
button to go down. It opened almost immediately and as she
stepped on she was surprised to see Shane Proctor alone in the
car.

"Done for the day?" She asked.

"Yes, finally! There's a place across the way, The Recovery Room,
would you care to go for a drink?" He queried.

"As nice as that sounds, I can't. You and me and alcohol don't
mix well." Philly said rather brusquely.

"I didn't MEAN it THAT way, Philly. Just a drink to take the edge
off and catch up." Shane insisted.

"Whatever Shane, one of us has to have a little willpower and I'm
afraid it's not me. With you, I'm easy and I love my husband and
my marriage too much to let it happen again. We can only work
together, not socialize. I'm sorry." Philly said even though she
felt bad for treating him that way.

"Shane! I didn't mean to shoot you down so hard. Actually,
tomorrow I have to fly to upstate New York with someone from
Edison M.S.; I'm going to represent Hampden in a remarkable news
conference. Watch the news for me and you'll see an incredible
story."  She added as she peeled off and headed to the parking
lot to get her car and drive home.

Chapter 11

Selena and Joe had all the legal papers they would need to begin
to recreate the life they once had and were on their way home.
Their final stop at Edison put things in perspective for Joe and
for the first time since he came around from his DFS as the real
Joe Johnson, he looked at Edison as a place for healing, instead
of a prison. It was the perfect catharsis for the re-beginning.
He knew, as well as Selena, that the next few weeks would be a
hectic trial of explanation after explanation to those who would
somehow miss the story on TV, radio, newspaper and internet.
Edison Mental Studies Clinic, Hampden Behavioral Health, Wall
Street Global Group, the States of New York and New Jersey, The
Freedom Tower and 911 Memorial Commission, and The PolyTech
Institute were all putting out press releases to announce the
recovery of 2 lives from the 911 attacks, how they came about and
the circumstance of the ordeal. The two recovered victims would
hold a press conference the following morning at 11 a.m. from
their home. Only local affiliate anchors of the 4 major networks
would be invited as well one local and one New York City
newspaper would be invited. All other requests for interviews and
appearances would not be entertained with a plea for their
privacy and the chance to get on with their lives. Both Edison
Behavioral and Hampden reps would be on hand to answer and
explain the medical aspects of their individual situations and
what one had to do with the recovery of the other.

The press releases would all be identical except for the
relationship that either, Joe, Selena or both of them had with
the issuing party. It was meant to cut down on a lot of the
questions of who and how it was possible. Selena and Joe were not
excited about the presser, but just wanted to get it out of the
way and hope that any and all of their friends and associates
would hear or see it and let them move on. JoAnne Culver from
Edison and Phyllis Flowers would represent Hampden and would
answer ALL the medical questions.

They were home for only a few minutes when they switched on the
11 o'clock news when the story was broke to the networks and over
the internet.

"You may remember a human interest story from 4 or 5 weeks ago
about a man being treated and studied with DFS. Those said to
suffer with DFS sometime end up with total memory loss of their
past and wake each day as a different personality, a personality
so complex that doctors feel that it may be that of, or as, a
significant person in the persons past life. One of those
patients, however, caused quite a stir because he woke one day as
Joseph Johnson, a Wall Street investor thought lost in the
attack, and has kept the same unwavering personality and he
finally convinced doctors that he survived the 911 attack in the
first tower hit and wandered away with his wife. His
father-in-law recognized him from the report and used information
he provided to find the man's wife and tonight they begin to put
their lives back together after being missing for 9 years."

"And so it begins......" Joe said as he looked up from the TV at
Selena and her parents.

"Just get yourselves through tomorrow and I think the hard part
is over. I know you both like being private people, but this is a
hell of a story. You're considered back from the dead.
Unfortunately people who got calls from their loved ones who said
they were OK that day, and then never came home, will use this to
drive clinics like Edison and Hampden crazy hoping to find
people. You two will just have to bite your tongues and be
patient tomorrow and let the experts handle the medical
questions." Scott Hansen advised them.

"It's going to be an early day tomorrow and I know you want to
pore over things here, but let's just get to bed, get up
refreshed and get it over with. JoAnne and Phyllis fly in at 7:30
and have a service to get them here. We'll all have breakfast
together and talk to be ready for the day. Lights out in 10
minutes!" Betty said with a smile, hoping she made an impression
on her daughter and Joe.

After a nervous first night home, with Selena's Mom and Dad
staying as well, they woke to the sound of trucks outside setting
up for feeds to networks.  After showers and a little puttering
around by Selena and Joe a knock came from the front door amid
the hubbub in the driveway. The hired security man had JoAnne
Culver and Philly Flowers with him to let in. Still, Betty Hanson
managed to fill Joe's house with the smell of breakfast like only
she could fix. Eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits, and plenty of
coffee. The homey scents seemed to calm a lot of nerves and steel
Selena and Joe's will to get it all over with.
While Betty was preparing the breakfast Scott had supervised the
transformation of the front of the garage into a studio, making
sure TV people kept their trucks and equipment off the grass and
they didn't infringe on their privacy.

At 10 o'clock Joe, Selena, along with The Hansons, JoAnne Culver
and Phyllis Flowers came out of the elevator to a loud round of
applause from the gathered news people and a few hundred local
gawkers in the driveway and adjoining property. Scott and Betty
Hanson, Selena and Joe sat at a table, while JoAnne and Philly
stood at podiums that flanked the table. Philly and JoAnne read
from prepared statements that fully explained the circumstances
and how the discovery and the reunion of all parties came about.

When the floor was opened for questions many just covered things
already laid out in previous statements causing Joe to get short
and curt with his answers. Finally Scott, who was directing the
questioners, saw the one radio reporter from the local 50,000
watt station, and he pointed at him.

"How good does it feel to be back home?" He asked.

For the first time Joe smiled and hugged Selena at the same time.

"No words can describe what I feel to know that I had lost my
wife and got her back and that her parents somehow never gave in
to the realities of us being gone. Virtually, nothing has changed
since the last day I remember being here. Nine years is a long
time and . . . . . ." He was saying as he began to choke up with
emotion.

Selena threw her arms around Joe's neck as she half stood and
kissed him saying into the microphone, "Nine years is a long
time, and we really just want to get back to our lives and maybe
make up for the nine years if people would just leave us alone
and let us live the way we always did! Yes, it's a fascinating
story, but there's nothing more to tell. You ask us questions
about being inside that building before it fell, . . . it was
horrifying and having to relive that is not a pleasant
experience."

Of the hands raised with questions among the 6 media members all
went down except for that of the lone newspaper reporter from New
York City.

Scott pointed to him and he asked, "Selena, are you going to be
doing financial blurbs with Wall Street Global again? We who
write about all that boring stuff found that you made it much
more pleasant and easier to understand."

Chuckles came from the crowd as well as smiles from all of those
at the podium. The question definitely broke the mood and made
everyone stop and think for a moment.

"Yes, well I hope to someday get back there, if they want me."
She said with a broad smile.

Anyone else who had a question was embarrassed to ask at that
point and with no hands up.  Scott looked to everyone and nodded
and they all stood, and the 6 marched off to the elevator, thus
ending the press conference.

Inside Philly had a few moments to be with Joe and told him of
the developments, trying to skirt the issue of a rape taking
place. But Joe assumed the obvious and confronted Philly
directly.

"We are working on the premise that somewhere along the line she
was raped and she has no knowledge or recollection, am I right?"
He asked.

"It looks that way Joe, but you can't say a word yet, to her or
anyone." She forcefully answered.

"I would like to delve into her subconscious a little to see if
she has any memory of it, because if she is blocking it, we could
have problems later. Understand?" Philly asked as their
confidential moment was about to end as Selena drew near.


"Why do I have this feeling that you're talking about me like I'm
still in a mental hospital?" Selena said as she approached.
"You were NOT in a mental hospital and I was just telling Joe
what I will tell you right now. I would like to have one more
session with you, possibly under hypnosis or a drug relaxed
state. I think it can accelerate your adaptation back to where
you could return normalcy. I hear you seem distant at times and
that's common for being rushed back into society. You might have
issues unresolved." Philly tried to explain without showing her
real hand.

"What kind of issues? Give me an example." She asked as if she
might not resist the session if an issued sounded reasonable.

"In that type of social setting you sometimes develop a trust or
a fondness that might be considered inappropriate, not in
reality, but in your mind. Remember, your devotion to Joe was at
times skewed by mistrust that he may have carried on his life
while leaving you behind. You knew in your heart it couldn't be
true, but you also questioned mortality and whether you were of
this world." Philly tried to explain without fully lying about
all of her intentions.

"You mean I may have had a boyfriend in the klink and I'm afraid
to admit it to Joe?"  She asked.

"You word it so colorfully." Philly said with a smile, "Wouldn't
it have been natural to have a trust in someone who may have made
you feel comfortable? Someone who you felt was in the same
predicament as you perceived it?"

"So I may have fallen in love and had sex?" She asked in
wonderment.

"Well, "love" has so many meanings, but sex? No, there is no way
anyone in Hampden would be allowed or the opportunity allowed
having that sort of relationship. Utter impossibility with the
cameras and amount of staff." Philly spoke without reserve.

"How about staff? Could I have had sex with staff?" Selena asked
as if she had the inkling.

"It would have taken collusion and even still, no space is
untouched by the eye." Philly spoke assuredly.

"OK, I'll do the session, but it's the last one. If that's what I
have to do to have Joe trust me." Selena said.

"SELENA! I never questioned anything of the sort! My love for you
knows no bounds and is only stronger than it was on 9-11." Joe
said perturbed she would make such a statement.

"Joe there are times you look at me like you don't know who I
am." Selena said looking directly into Joe's eyes.

"THAT'S the paranoia we're trying to discover here Selena."
Philly said. "You think that, but Joe doesn't feel that."

Joe hugged Selena tightly and whispered in her ear, "Thinking I
don't trust you, I should give you a good spanking for that one!"

"Well, under the right circumstances." She whispered back as she
broke the hug and gave Joe a coy smile.

"Philly you set it up. I'm going to go help my Mom; she's worried
about lunch already." Selena said as she kissed Joe and then
touched Philly's arm.

"Where and when?" Joe asked happy that Selena was resolved to
cooperate.

"I'd like to do it here, where she's comfortable, but with no one
around." Philly said.

"Can you really hypnotize her?" Joe wondered.

"Hypnotism is mostly a myth, but she and I are close enough that
I can get her to totally relax and under the effect of certain
drugs she may open up doors. It will be as if she is a little
stoned, like the effect of a joint or two. People have seen
enough of entertainer style hypnosis that they think it really
works. I can get her close to that state and then the cocktail
injection I'll give her will just totally relax her and maybe
open a door she's afraid to open. Then again, she may not have
any recollection. I won't talk her into it, just talk her through
what we KNOW happened and she if she expounds at all. Joe, this
isn't a totally approved method, giving her this drug cocktail.
I've had success with it and I promise you, it can't harm her. I
will monitor her all the time. Just keep this between the 3 of
us. Are you with me, or would you rather not?" Philly asked with
a little trepidation.

"What's not "totally approved" about it?" He wondered.

"Individually the drugs are OK, approved and well within my realm
of prescribing. Mixing them in a cocktail, and in this case,
that's only an expression, it will be two separate injections,
isn't forbidden, nor is it recommended. The reason it's not
"approved" is that it was experimented with by young fools in
full doses in actual cocktails combining the two in one injection
and it caused panic attacks, and heart attacks in some instead of
the sexual effect they thought it might induce." Philly
explained.

WRITERS NOTE:
In my original draft I noted (by name) the drugs besides sodium
pentothal that made up this designer sex experimenters cocktail.
The clinicians who schooled me on some of the situations I use in
the story asked me to not name them specifically, for obvious
reasons. When combined with "relaxation therapy" (the name both
of my references prefer to call "hypnotism") and a many times
reduced "cocktail", it can induce the subject to open heretofore
closed doors in the mind quite possibly much like when a man or
woman with broken down inhibitions does things sexually that are
out of their realm. I hope I've explained this to make sense.

"Can you tell me she's going to be totally safe?" Joe asked flat
out.
"Yes, she's had Xanax with a sleeping agent as a total relaxant
before and shook it off easily. This is stronger than that, but
easier on the system. I won't administer it unless I am sure she
is in the state I want her in. Fair enough?" She asked as she
made her point and deal at once.

"I trust you totally, it's just the "only 3 of us" proposition
that makes me think you're doing something, . . . . I don't know,
. . . . . illegal." Joe said with a tinge of doubt.

Philly took her business card from her brief case and handed it
to him.

"Call my practice and tell them what we are doing and if they
approve of its use." She challenged.

"Can I ask Dr. Culver?"

"Here's the thing Joe, I'm here as a representative of Hampden,
but still a contractor for them. They frown on using drugs like
this. When and if Edison sends a patient to Hampden they expect
it to be unwritten that drugs will not be used unless it is an
extreme case. She has every right to tell anyone that although
Hampden practices a no or low drug policy, an on-site
practitioner is taking them off-site to get around the policy.
You know that is not the case here, I know it is not the case.
But, that is why I would prefer she not know." Philly explained.

"Fair enough. It's only because I know that you think so much of
Selena and have been her friend and seen her through so much of
her troubles that I will grant you a pass on this. If you get her
to talk about that day and she can go no further than me leaving
the ambulance, you won't proceed, correct?" He asked hoping she
would agree to the stipulation.

"Of course. I'll be able to tell if she's "knocking" at a door or
not and if there's no indication, we stop. You have my word." She
assured him as Dr. Culver came into the room.

"Nurse Flowers, I'm going to try and catch the 5:05 train back to
the city. My husband works near Penn and he's going to meet me.
Is that OK with you? You're welcome to ride back into Jersey with
us." She asked and offered.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stay tonight and make
sure Selena is OK with her changes and go back tomorrow." She
said glad to have an opportunity to get the session with Selena
done as the situation quieted down in the area.

Joe had paid for additional security around the property to keep
both gawkers and well-wishers away, but at the time it didn't
really seem necessary as it seemed their wishes were being
respected. The news conference and statements to the media really
answered most questions about what happened and, at least in
their upstate New York home, their privacy was being respected.

They had offered Philly Flowers a guest bedroom rather than ferry
herself to a hotel. Initially she turned it down, but later in
the day took them up on the offer if only to have Selena more
relaxed for her session the next day. After The Hanson's had left
following dinner the 3 of them sat and talked, even sipping a
little ice wine before bed.

Once they retired Selena confronted Joe as they lay ready to fall
asleep. "The two of you are fishing for something that happened
that day, I can just tell. Joe, you know I'm not hiding anything,
right?"

"Selena! Never in my wildest dreams do I think you are
intentionally hiding anything. I totally love and trust you with
every speck of my being, my soul, my existence. The trauma of
what happened cost me 9 years of my life, what is to say you
didn't lose a little time yourself. This is just a little
preventative therapy to uncover things that may show up later. I
think it is nothing, and apparently you do as well. Let's just
get some sleep." Joe said moving over her to kiss her deeply.

"Joe, I never thought I would say this, but, not tonight. I'm
really tired and I'm wearing a tampon. I feel like I'm going to
have my first regular period in a long time after being so thrown
off schedule for so long. I was going 2 and 3 months without
anything more than spotting. Let's let this run its course. After
these couple days I'll be peppy enough to want a taste of you,
don't worry." She said with a loving smile as she rolled to let
him spoon and fall asleep.

Philly Flowers awoke from her sleep missing her husband and smell
of coffee he usually set up on auto-brew for her. She quickly
showered and dressed and made her way to Joe Johnson's kitchen
just as she heard their own coffee brewer switch on
automatically. As she filled her lungs with the stimulating aroma
of the fresh brew she heard a door open and shut just before Joe
Johnson appeared in the room.

"The best part of waking up? . . .as the commercial says." He
said as he turned on some lights and opened the windows looking
into the yard to smell the fresh cool morning air.

"Yes, it is. Is Selena still sleeping?"

"No she's just finishing in the shower. She'll be right out. What
time do you want to do your procedure?"

"Hmmm, . . . it's 8:15 now, if we finish breakfast by 10, I would
say noon or so. She said she liked to treadmill or walk
afterwards. If I give her a couple pills to take during her cool
down, that will relax her. With the overcast fall day and the
high casement windows in her bedroom, that might be the best spot
to do it. I have everything I need; I just have a little cold
pack to put in the freezer." She said looking at her watch and
then staring off into space as her mind worked.

"Cold pack? Is that for the beer?" Joe chuckled.

""Not exactly." She chuckled, "It's only an inch and a half
around, and I'll put it on her thigh or upper arm. If I decide to
inject her it will be where the pack covers so the stick of the
needle doesn't break the mood. Something I got from a therapist I
trained with."

As the noon hour rolled around Selena was in a mellow mood having
been issued a small dose of an opiate derivative to achieve just
that. She may not have totally realized she had been "drugged"
yet as she still felt very cogent, but Philly saw the signs.

"Let's start our session Selena," Philly said. "We can go into
the bedroom where you can be comfortable and talk, OK?"

"Sure, just me and you, like back in Hampden, huh?" She answered
not realizing she had slurred a word or two.

"Yes, you know the drill, I talk, and you give me your ideas. But
now, you actually speak in our session. Remember the good that
came from the last session where you broke down your wall and we
got you home because of it?" She asked as they walked to the
bedroom and Joe quietly slid outside where he planned to do some
yard work.

Once she was comfortable Nurse Flowers began asking questions
about being home, being with Joe, seeing her parents, all of the
positives since she broke down the wall. Selena was relaxed as
she lay and she smiled as she talked about getting her life back.
She expounded on Wall Street Global and getting her mind going
again and then even talked about making love with Joe, starting
to give intimate details. It was then Philly realized that Selena
was ready to start to journey back, as she started to talk about
things she normally wouldn't share.


"So, you're happy with your marriage and how it's all worked out,
now that you're home?" Philly asked.

"Oh God, yes. Joe is such a stabilizing factor for me. He
completes my world. Just last night we talked about having a real
wedding, one before God and all of our friends. He knows how
happy that would make me. But, first I'd love to go back to
Jamaica, which was where we really bonded our lives to each
others. Joe called it our retirement preview; we could live that
happy and carefree every day. But, I had to pay my dues." Selena
expounded quietly in a soft voice.

"Pay your dues?" she asked.

"Finish my commitment to Wall Street Global and make my
contribution to my craft."

"Your craft?"

"I know that market inside and out. I'm smart as hell you know.
Sometimes I even fucking surprise myself. Things just come
together for me, and when I get in that room with my partners,
it's magic, just like fucking sex. I can't wait to get back there
and make it happen, except I'll miss Charlie and Will, especially
Charlie. He used to think of me as his daughter. None of them
thought of me sexually, you know, well except Slim, he'd fuck a
snake if he could hold it down. I remember I couldn't wait to
tell them, confidentially, of course, that I was legally married.
I had to because of the partnership, but they would have been so
tickled. Then the best day of my life turned into the worst day
of my life." Selena continued rambling on but keeping the subject
path aimed where Philly wanted it to go.

Selena was in a semi-hypnotic-like state. She was sleepy, but
loose tongued and comfortable with Philly. She knew, almost
psychosomatically, that Philly was comfort and she had no reason
to block any thoughts.

"What made it the best day of your life, Selena?" Philly asked as
she popped the cap from one of her syringes and popped the short
needle into Selena's thigh just where the cold pack sat.

The question threw Selena into deep thought, but before she could
answer Philly wanted to distract her once again to apply the
second injection.

" . . . And what made it the worst day, both best and worst all
rolled into one?" She asked as she dropped the first syringe on
the bed and used her teeth to pull the cap from the second,
spitting the cap to the floor, and stabbing the second short
needle near the first site.

"The best was we just signed and transferred the money for our
homes around the world, a whole package of retirement places. We
shook hands and then the building shuddered and the world came
apart." She said tears beginning to run from her eyes.

"How did you get out?"

Everyone was rushing the stairs, but right away Joe had troubles
with his knees and we had to lag a bit, but one lady stayed with
us to help. We got Joe between us and we went down the steps in
unison trying to take weight off his legs. Then all hell broke
loose, something, maybe even a person, fell down the stairwell
and it knocked Joe over some people to the next landing. He was
in real pain and real trouble and most people were rushing out
and almost walking over him. This other woman and I got him to
his feet and into the corner where we could get our bearings. As
soon as a wave of people passed we had a break and we carried
Joe, most of his weight on our shoulders for what seemed forever.
At one point I realized he was totally limp, he had passed out.
At the next landing we got to the corner, I was afraid he was
dead, but this woman started pinching his face and he came
around. I shouted that we had to get out and we were on our way,
with Joe yelping at each step, but insisting to keep going. Then
he gave up and wanted us to leave him. I was so fucking mad at
him then. I shouted at him "Joe Johnson doesn't quit!". He saw
the fire in my eyes and he got up and then next thing we knew
there was a bridge over an atrium type of thing and we started
across it and it vibrated heavily and then some guys in
maintenance type uniforms were motioning people through a door
where we saw outside light. Most continued over the atrium
bridge, but I saw the light and just Joe and I went out.  I had
to breath real air.  Outside was . . . . . ." She started and
then stopped trying to hold back from out and out bawling.
"What was outside Selena?"

"There was a landing and steps going down to the street, like a
loading area, probably the 3rd or 4th floor in the front, but
street level back there. I looked around and saw smashed people
and before I could scream another fell and it's hand or foot, or
shoe, maybe brushed by my side and hit the landing right in front
of me, a body just smashed like meat falling on the floor. I
puked and fell into it, the body, and Joe picked me up, and then
suddenly there was glass everywhere. A sheet of it fell from the
sky and must have just missed us. Joe picked me up to carry me
down the stairs, Halfway down I remember falling, but that's it.
Then Joe and another man were dragging me, at first I thought,
back into the building, but then I realized we were in a tunnel.
There was a blur as to what happened, my head ached so much, I
remember a lot of shouting at me and suddenly I was lying down
and an oxygen mask over my face, it was so refreshing, but then I
realized Joe wasn't there.
I panicked and tried to get up and realized I was in a truck, or
ambulance and Joe was limping away. They strapped me down so I
couldn't get up and when they closed the back door so I couldn't
see Joe the pain in the back of my head seemed to explode. I
guess I passed out from the pain." Selena said seeming to finish.

"Is that all you can recall? Do you remember waking up in the hos
. . . . ." Philly started to ask when Selena blurted out loudly.

"HE WAS FUCKING ME, THAT BASTARD WAS RAPING ME!! I was strapped
down to that bed and he had tied my legs and he was on me. I
thought I was dreaming of Joe and then this animal was fucking me
with a mask pushed over my face. I tried to scream, I tried to
breathe and then I died, I felt myself slip away, but I didn't
care, I was dirty and Joe wouldn't have me anymore. Breathe
stopped, there was shouting and I could do nothing, I was tied
down . . . and I died. . . . . . I couldn't breathe and I died."
She said finishing softly and seemed to fade away.

"Selena, you didn't die! You're here now!"

"I know because you saved me, but as far as Joe is concerned, I
may as well be dead. I'm dirty, having another man in me."

"Selena, you were raped, you had no choice!"

"But I'm a soiled woman now, I feel so dirty. Joe will never
understand." She said starting to get a weepy tone in her voice.

"Selena, Joe's love for you is unconditional, and you know that.
When you wake up you'll remember the rape and tell Joe, and I
promise you, he'll understand." Philly said in an even tone so as
not to disturb the "sleep" Selena was apparently in now.

"How can he understand?"

"He already knows about it, and has since you were back with him.
He's needed you to face it."

"He won't think any different of me?"

"Of course not. Joe loves you, heart and soul, mind and spirit.
If you gained a hundred pounds and grew a wart on your nose, what
he loved most about you wouldn't change."

Selena's dark sullen demeanor suddenly changed and a smile
appeared at the corners of her mouth. "Are you sure? Did he
really say that?"

"Selena my dear friend, I needed only spend a few minutes with
each of you to see that your love is of the ages. He has so many
things to do and say to further prove his love, his unconditional
love. But you have to face up to everything and let it all out,
no more hiding. OK?"

Selena nodded a bit, still apparently out of total touch with
reality.

Then Philly asked her something to see if she was aware that she
had given birth.

"Once you face all your problems and it all comes out in the
open, you and Joe can finally have your children."

"Ohhh, babies. I never saw my baby." Selena said.

"You have a baby?" Philly asked softly.

"Yes, I . . . . I think so. The white room, hands pressing on me,
feeling so big, and then the relief of passing something out of
me, but . ."

"But what?"

"Where? I just don't know. I remember dreaming with that funny
taste in my mouth. Feeling so sick . . it must have been dreams.
(long pause while Philly waited to see if she remembered more)  .
. . .I'm getting so scared now!" Selena said as she began to pull
her legs up to her chest, like a fetal position.

Philly knew it was time to end the session. She took the cover
from her last syringe and gave her a small amount of Xanax to
deepen her sleep and let her mind process what they talked about.
She would give her 2 hours before she tried to wake her and be
with her as she broke through the cobwebs. From her experience
with these sessions Selena would react positively to all she
faced up to. She had been forthright and positive about
everything, but not sure if she had the baby. The funny taste she
remembered was the sedative they kept her under at Felsen that
kept her out of the loop, the dreams were from her body reacting
and changing with the pregnancy.

Philly marveled at the baby's existence at all.
Had it not been a catholic hospital they may have aborted the
baby.

Had Emory Richards not found out about the pregnancy or Spagner's
plans to bring Selena to Felsen for an abortion long after the
1st trimester, there wouldn't be a baby.

Did it show ill effects of the odd pregnancy she had been
through?

Philly took her little voice recorder and saved the session for
transcription. She turned the little heartbeat and blood/oxygen
monitor that was on Selena's finger and turned the monitor toward
the small desk in the corner where she would sit and wait for
Selena to come around. She made notes under the small light that
provided the dull mood of the room amid the overcast ambiance
from outside.

Selena had been through so much and if she faced these final
demons she might just end up not only unscathed, but stronger
from the effects. Philly patted herself on the back for sticking
with her, always believing that she was just that close to
beating her demons, destroying her barriers. Had she known about
the rape, the being almost totally sedated for as much as 150
days, and giving birth, she may not have thought there was much
chance of saving her from her inner demons.

Chapter 12

Philly Flowers gently stroked Selena's cheek just after 3:30 to
see if there were response yet and though she stirred a bit she
didn't appear ready to wake up. She had heard Joe come back in
the house, but let him wait until she called him. She wanted
Selena to wake as naturally as possible. At 4 o'clock she tried
once again to stroke her cheek and she stirred, turning her face
away from the stroking and shifting her feet. She stroked the
other cheek and the inside of her arm above the elbow.

"Selena, Selena? Are we waking up?" Philly asked.

 She made a violent move to push away the hand stroking her arm
and then startled awake.

"Ohh, it's you! I'm sorry I fell asleep. We were talking and I
dozed off before you got going." She said as she stretched her
arms and legs and began to sit up.

"No, stay down for a minute; let the blood circulate before you
sit up too soon." Philly told her while grasping her upper arm
and thwarting her.
 Selena looked up at her and stretched again and then looked off
into the space behind Philly.

"Oh, Ohhhhhh. Uh-oh, I found more secrets. What's Joe going to
say? I wasn't hiding them . . .   really!" She started to say as
she began to cry.

"Selena, Selena, calm down! You didn't say anything that we, Joe
nor I, didn't know. It was you who had to remember it." She told
her.

"He raped me! Joe knows it was rape, right?"

"Of course. You fought so hard that you swallowed your tongue,
and probably came close to dying. Your passing out from lack of
oxygen probably saved you. If you fought any harder you may have
asphyxiated yourself. When he couldn't dislodge it he was on your
chest and that probably got your heart going again, but caused
you to struggle against your tongue again. That was when the
second ambulance attendant came back to answer the rapist panic
call. He saved you that day." She told her calmly as she put the
pieces back together.

"His name was Richard, I remember I saw that and he came to see
me in the other hospital too. Can we bring Joe in so we can all
talk now?" Philly asked her.

"Slow down a little, OK? His name was Emory Richards. As much
good as he did for you, don't forget that he knew what happened
and hid it and protected the other fellow." Philly cautioned her.

Suddenly Selena got a terrified look of panic on her face and
looked to Philly wide-eyed and mouth agape.

"I had a baby, didn't I?" She said before she broke out into
tears falling face forward onto the bed. "Oh my God, oh My God!!
OUR DREAMS!! OUR DREAMS ARE GONE!!" She cried out as she cried,
near uncontrollably.

Philly got up and went to the door and called for Joe who was
already coming after hearing her cry.

"She's just realized, on her own, that she had the baby and
thinks it's the deal breaker for you two. Help her out." Philly
said as Joe passed her.

"JOE, JOE!! WHILE I WAS CRAZY I HAD THAT SON OF A BITCH'S BABY,
THEY RUINED ME, RUINED US FOREVER!" She screamed through her
tears.

"No, no, no, that isn't the case at all." Joe said as he knelt on
the bed and bent to cuddle her and whisper in her ear.

"I've suspected about the baby for a few days and Philly did some
snooping and said the right words for you to remember. It doesn't
make a difference to you or to me. We can still have our babies."
Joe said evenly to calm her demeanor.

"How did you know?" She said as her tears still dripped off her
face.

Joe looked at Philly with an embarrassed look and she turned and
walked to the desk where her briefcase was.

"A few days ago when we were making love and you flipped over to
your knees and your ass was all spread out I saw an episiotomy
scar, where they cut you to make delivery easier. I've been
around the block a few times and I know that scar. Selena, you
have a child somewhere and apparently the guy who raped you is
the father. They have the babies DNA and it should prove that. It
may be a way to press charges against the guy." Joe told her,
holding both her hands, knowing what effect it might have on her.

 However, she didn't freak out like he thought she might.

"So, that child is 8, almost 9 years old. I would never try to
claim it; it would cause so much pain for the parents and
emotional problems for the child. That kid might not even know it
was adopted, . . . assuming it was." Selena said quietly, almost
regrettably.

"It, . . . it WAS adopted Selena, and I respect you for not
wanting to make any waves. I think it's very selfish when you see
that happen." Philly said calmly taking a lead from Joe.

"It was a girl, honey. Probably a pretty little girl as well."
Joe said stroking her hair.

"Would it be too much to ask to see her? You know, just a
picture, or maybe she plays soccer or tee ball we could go to a
game." Selena said reflectively.

"Honey, we don't know where she is or anything. Let's see what
the DNA tests reveal
and then decide how we might want to handle all of this." Joe
said unaware that Emory Richards knew.

Selena knelt up fully and went knee to knee with Joe on the bed,
looking at him with pouty, sad eyes and taking his hands in hers.

"So, you don't think of me as used up or different after all of
this? Am I still your special girl?"

"Essy, my sweet little angel," He said in a low voice just for
her, "You are still the smartest, most beautiful woman I have
ever laid eyes on. What happened that day and in the 9 years
since has been essentially erased from our lives and we have the
chance to pick up and carry on as we were. Once we get this
stuff, the rape and the paternity all taken care of, we can
rejoin the world as we were. Our old friends have been looking
for us, your parents fully support us, you still have your seat
at Wall Street Global; it's all waiting for us. Now I admit that
it is a bit easier for me, I didn't lose the years you did, nor
did I have the fight you did. In my mind it's barely a month
since it all happened, even though the weight of the time passed
has overwhelmed me from time to time. But, for you and I, I love
you more and more each minute. I still want you each time I see
you. Nothing has changed." Joe said to her taking her hand and
putting it on his heart and he doing the same to her.

Though still smiling, tears streamed down her face, resisting the
urge to hug and kiss him. She just wanted to see him in this
tender moment and know that all that happened hadn't changed a
thing.

"Will you grant me a wish?" She asked.

"If it's possible at all, I'll do anything for you."

"Let's have all of this just go away. If our life together can
start over right here, right now, . . . . . . I don't care to
pursue any of this any further. I care that I was violated, I
care that I was treated like an animal having my baby ripped and
stolen from me. But I can put it all behind me, and if you can do
the same, I don't want to relive any of this. Let's wake up
tomorrow and start where we left off. We know what happened, we
can't change it, I prefer to just drop everything." She said
calmly, her eyes imploring Joe.

Joe let out a deep breath and looked at her sincerely, "If that's
what you want, we can do that. Just be sure it's what you want."

Philly had overheard everything and stood up and came over to
them.

"This guy Spagner, who orchestrated the whole thing, is currently
under arrest for a lot of little things associated with the
cover-up of all of this. The Jersey State Medical Board is
pressing the charges, not you, so you won't have to testify
against him or his co-conspirator. If they call me I can testify
as to why they were hiding all of the documents. But, I want you
to think about how you propose to handle all of this, because
once you choose to let it all go, that's it. Try to be sure there
won't be any remorse over doing that." Philly warned them.

"I know, I've already thought of that myself. We'll take a few
days to talk about it, but you'll keep us posted on everything?"
Joe asked.

"Certainly. Remember, you want closure. Not closure with second
thoughts. What they did to Selena is unforgivable, but if the
only way to make them pay for it means Selena having to live it
over and over and have every intimate detail of your life, your
relationship, and even financial situation brought up in a trial
. . . . . . . . I've been a witness is rape cases when it's
brought out in therapy. It gets ugly." Philly cautioned.

Joe and Selena were weighing the word Philly told them as she
packed up her briefcase and had Joe arrange a car to ready to
bring her to the airport. Philly allowed herself a few hours to
be sure Selena was OK after the drugs she had injected into her
wore off. Her flight wasn't until 7:10, but at 4:45 Selena got up
from the sofa where Joe had walked her earlier and declared she
was hungry and really had to pee.

"As much as that doesn't sound like a cue to leave, that is. If
you can page the driver, I'm ready to go." She told Joe.

As Joe and Selena walked her down to the driveway Philly told
them, "I'll call you as I get information on the DNA tests and
the charges they have on this Spagner character. Do NOT do
anything to try and contact him or anything stupid like that. Let
the justice system handle this. There are additional charges that
a grand jury is going to hear about improper handling of money
that may take him off the street. I'll keep you on top of
everything, but I suggest you keep all of this information to
yourself. Remember that I am just a citizen in this whole deal
and have been made privy to some info that the state board
provided. Be patient and I'll be in touch. Any problems, call me
right away."

"I know I've thanked you many times, but Thank You again for
taking such an interest in my case and being such a true and
understanding friend." Selena said as she hugged and kissed
Philly before she got into the car.


As they turned to walk through the garage back into the house
Selena realized that she and Joe were to be really "alone" for
the first time since that morning in 2001.

"Let's go upstairs and sit on the sofa together like we used to."
She said as she tugged his hand and stepped on the elevator.

As they settled into the sofa in front of the picture window that
looked out over a good part of the city Joe took her hand and
kissed it saying, "You said you were hungry before, what do you
want me to fix you?"

"I know exactly what I want." Selena said with a sly grin as she
turned a bit and put her hand right on Joe's package.

"YOU are about to get one of most deserved blowjobs of your life.
I know you don't like that term, but there is no other way to
describe how I am going to get dirty with your cock. My head in
your lap until your cum is in my belly. I'm still wearing a
tampon so you can't help me much in that department, but sliding
your cock in my mouth will get me off in my own way." She said as
her hand found the tab on his zipper and she shoved herself away
enough to be able to bend to get at him.

Joe said nothing as she pulled his zipper down and then
unfastened his pants and opened them to reveal no underwear.

"Ooooo, commando! I get to play with those balls too!" She said
her eyes riveted to the penis that lay before her.

She bent and took it in her hand and aimed it at her mouth and
took as much as she could of the shaft in her mouth so she could
feel it engorge.

Joe swooned as the blood rushed to his cock and filled her mouth.
She pressed her mouth as far as it would go and came up sucking
to get all the man taste she could with a deep swallow before
doing the same 2 more times. She sat back and stroked it twice,
satisfied it was now at full mast, and took the head in her mouth
and began to bob her head over him while her right hand found his
balls and lifted them gently to caress while they manufactured
the load of cum she so desperately wanted to taste.

She felt her own spittle dripping from the base of his cock over
his balls into her hand knowing it was just the right slickness
for her mouth to get the proper friction to make him cum. Knowing
she was having her period and she didn't relish being touched
between her legs (unless she was doing it) and during that time
he restrained himself. However he saw her seemingly sawing her
legs together or at least trying to create some sort of friction
below so he slid his hand over the cute round bottom and the
almost pajama type lounge pants she wore for the session earlier.
He quickly found the split of her newly shaved pussy and began to
trace his finger up and down it. As he pressed harder she was
responding by groaning through her suction that she was enjoying
it.

He kept the rubbing going hot and heavy as she squirmed her torso
around, but her mouth not missing a beat as she slid her lips and
tongue over and over him. Suddenly Joe's breath quickened and a
shrill moan was coming from her throat as he brought her closer
and closer to her own end.

She was quite determined not to stop as her orgasm intensified
and his breathing become determined. She suddenly shook like
being struck by lightning and bolted her head down over his cock
involuntarily from the rush of pleasure spasm, the head of his
penis going into her throat, something she had never been able to
do before. The sudden pressure and squeeze on the pulsing head of
his cock pushed him over the edge as his first shot went directly
down her throat as she stopped her sucking and took her mouth
off, while still stroking him. A second volley escaped before she
put her mouth over him again and squirmed her bottom out of his
reach, sliding to the floor. She ate the rest that he pushed out
and sucked and licked at him until he could take no more.

Selena pulled up from him and started laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny!" Joe asked, so amused.

"We beat them, we beat the fuckers! The terrorists thought they
killed us and I saw them celebrating that fact in the videos.
Some horny little bastard took advantage of me, the only way he
could get laid, by tying down a dying woman. They got me pregnant
and stole the baby away and now, the terrorists are dead, and the
slimy son of a bitch who raped me is going to jail. And me, and
you, we just got laid and will get laid every which way possible
whenever we want. OUR LOVE IS INDESTRUCTABLE!!" She beamed.

"It's a pseudo-perverted way to look at it, but you may be right,
come here and let me hold you." Joe said as she lifted herself up
and lay across Joe pushing him down onto the sofa where they laid
together catching their breath.

As they both fought dozing off in each other's arms Selena looked
up to see the time.

"Joey, it's almost 6. Mom and Dad will be here with the pizza in
a few minutes. Let's get dressed and freshen up. My sweats are a
little wet in the crotch and I have cum-breath. You have to wash
your hands and change your pants. I drooled so much spit that it
ran off your balls and into your pants." She said before she
jumped up and went to freshen up and change with Joe following.

In the bedroom they changed hurriedly and each time Joe looked to
Selena she had a strange grin on her face. Joe knew her well
enough to know that something was up.

"What!!??"

"You went right into my throat and shot!"

"I know, but I didn't do that, you did."

"God, your fingers made me cum so hard, it was just a whole body
jerk and next thing I know, you're all the way down me. Did it
feel good?"

"Obviously, it's a strange sensation, like being all the way in
you and another mouth puts pressure on the tip. Hard to express."

"I never got to taste much of you, it just shot in my throat."

Selena continued the strange grin and acted a bit embarrassed and
Joe went to her.

"What is it that bothers you about this?"

"Nothing really, except you enjoyed it so much, I don't think I
can do it again." She said sheepishly.

"Don't worry, if it happens, it happens. I didn't ask you to do
it and I never would, you've told me you didn't like to gag. I'm
just happy that after all the time we've been together, we find
new things to make each other happy." He said comforting her.

The doorbell rang and Selena ran to the bathroom, saying as she
went by him,

"You get that. I didn't freshen up yet."

Joe led her parents into the kitchen and washed his hands while
Betty Hanson got napkins, plates, and forks. Selena joined them
and when they all started eating. Scott looked to Betty and
started to cry tears of happiness.

"There were nights we had pizza delivered here just so we could
sit and be where you two were, like you might reappear some day.
It sounds nutty, but it was comforting in a lot of ways. Now,
it's almost as if we knew you weren't gone." Scott said as he
reached for his daughters hand.

"Daddy, you were always the stern protector, and now I see you're
a sweet old softee with a fragile heart." Selena said as she
intertwined her fingers with his.

"When you think you've lost the thing you love most in the world
you question a lot of things. Your Mom and I have both changed
from this, and now our faith in God is so much stronger, where we
had doubts before." Scott said through his tears.

"Even though we lived right through the middle of it, 911 had a
greater impact on all of the families of the people who lived
through it and saw the aftermath as well as the families who had
loved ones die.”  Joe said as they all joined hands.

Chapter 13

Trying to undo 2 deaths and all the legalities with money and
property that changed hands is like trying to put the air back
into a burst balloon. A legal team was trying to make everything
as if their deaths never happened, for obvious reasons. Luckily,
there were no hostile heirs who received anything from their
hastily drawn wills. There were endowments to PolyTech that could
easily be undone as no cash or property ever changed hands since
they were contingent on the demise of Scott and Betty Hanson. 
PolyTech was also aware that they would be re-written into new
wills for the pair. The 3 properties they bought as the towers
were attacked had been under contract with a leasing company for
7 years. That contract would expire soon and lawyers made those
parties aware that the contract would not be extended and a new
property management agent would be put in place to be sure the
homes were kept secure and in good repair when they weren’t
occupied by the Joe and Selena.

Joe, especially, was getting itchy to get back into his stock
trading. It wasn’t so much to produce income, but rather to
fulfill his hobby. As it had been 9 years ago, investing in the
retirement homes around the world in their favorite spots had
ended his serious speculation in financials. He still liked the
joy of the hunt and kill, but big risk was left for those who had
yet to achieve financial security. Besides, if Selena decided to
continue her Wall Street Global career they, as a couple, would
have enough in the game by virtue of her seat and partnership in
the firm.

The legal firm Joe had contacted was a partnership that included
his original legal attorney for Johnson Construction. His name
was Roger Moret and was now part of the firm Murray, Moret and
Caribou. Moret had been a personal friend and was one of the
first to offer Joe and Selena congratulations and assistance when
they returned home. He had advised Joe to let them follow where
each dollar had gone since their “deaths” and see where they
stood. Joe was quite pleased to find that despite the tremendous
ebb and flow of the markets and real estate, they had done quite
well. The leased properties turned profits from long term tenants
with a low vacancy rate, and even that mostly because of the
property in Maine not being occupied in winters. Selena’s parents
were cautious on their investments and did little besides pay
themselves for maintaining the home and managing funds. They had
easy access to millions of dollars, but instead lived frugally in
their home where Selena was raised and enjoyed the luxuries of
Joe’s place overlooking the city. Essentially, they had paid
themselves about 50K a year for the 9 years and had bought 2 cars
and had a new pool installed at Joes when the liner and pumps
failed.


The way the Hansons paid themselves it was as if they were
employees of the Trust and
Roger Moret thought they could write it up that way with them
being employees of Joe and Selena, caring for the properties.
That might make the tax adjustment a little more palatable and of
course Joe and Selena could come up with enough “slush” to be
sure they never took a big tax hit.

The representative in the US Senate from their district already
had gears in motion to waive some red tape to get them passports
to Jamaica after hearing the press conference where Selena said
she wanted to get away and get their lives back in order.  The
State Department, Homeland Security, and Office of the Inspector
General, were all in concert with the NYS Governor, US Senate,
and the US Postal Service to clear their way. Their passports had
just been updated prior to 911 and that was making all of that
easy to push through.

Selena had been concerned with Joe because he had yet to leave
his property since they came home, it had been 3 days.

“Daddy brought the Mustang in to get new tires and stuff for me.
He says it runs great after being mothballed all that time. Let’s
go for a ride, maybe you can even look for a car.” She said after
they both finished with the morning papers.

 “Uh, no. I’m fine; I have things to do around here.” Joe
answered getting up quickly and going back towards his office.

“Joe, you’re going to have to go out and start to live again and
sitting in here or the back yard isn’t exactly you. I made a trip
to the mall with my mother yesterday and it was great to get out
and breath, see people and begin to get back into it. Yes, a few
people stopped and recognized me, but they only wished me well,
asked for God’s blessing. One older woman wanted to hug me. All
of this will wear off. We were in every newspaper around here and
made national TV, but people know we want some privacy.” Selena
said as she went to him and stopped his exit by taking his arm.

“I’m not ready yet. My mind is still a little paranoid. Everybody
wants something.” He answered curtly.

“Joe, wanting to wish us well isn’t exactly the stuff people get
paranoid about. Lick this now before you develop a real problem.
We’ve been cooped up for 9 years, and you hardly remember more
than a few of them. Get dressed and we’ll go for a ride, stop
down at Bishops Park and walk the mile trail. We can stop across
from the park at that car dealer, Jerry Cahills. I saw the ad on
TV and he still deals in GM and foreign cars. You bought the
Roadster from there.” Selena said to him in a tone he understood
as being “you’re GOING to do this for me, aren’t you?”

“BMW is making a Roadster, but not like mine with the German M
engine. If I ordered one with the M it will be a Z4 and they take
over a year to get. I’ve been on the internet . . . . . So pissed
I lost my car on top of everything else in that whole deal.” Joe
said whimsically.

“That was the least of our worries.” Selena said softly.

“Well, OBVIOUSLY! I didn’t mean it like it sounded. It just fit
me so well. We could ride close, get in and out of small places
in New York, and you looked so damn good in it!” Joe said making
motions with his hands and ending by pulling her close to hug.

Selena turned into him and playfully poked her finger in his
chest hairs. “So why don’t you order the car and color you want,
with the engine you want, . . . and in the meantime go with me to
Jerry Cahills and pick out something we both like. When you get
your precious Roadster, I’ll keep whatever we you drive until
then. OK?”

“What about your Mustang?”
“Joe, it’s almost 15 years old and I don’t want to depend on it.
I know it wasn’t in use most of that time, but still . . . . . .”

“I suppose you ARE right. If we did that we could give your Dad
the Mustang. He babied it like it was you for the 9 years, the
way it sounded. Let’s go and look at cars tomorrow, OK?” Joe said
as he tried to break free from her.

“Get dressed, we’re going now.” She said quietly as Joe turned
and went to the bedroom to change.

Selena followed him in and said “You know he’s got 3 leftover
Pontiac Solstices, one of them almost the color of the Roadster.”

“I don’t know what a Solstice is, and you’ve already been
looking, huh, you little brat.”

“I saw it as my Mom drove by and I thought of you and we went
back to look. Pontiacs are gone now, but they made this sports
car the last year. He has 3 more leftover at full sticker, but we
can afford it.” Selena said hopefully.

“What makes you think I would like it? Just get one to replace
the Mustang.”

“Joe, when we drove by I saw it, top down and the same color blue
as the Roadster, and I got wet thinking of you behind the wheel,
seriously. I went and looked at it; it has a hardtop that comes
off and a convertible top in the hatchback. It’s sooooo sexy and
it screams Joey!” She said getting excited.

“Are you sure it didn’t scream Selena?” Joe asked sarcastically.

“Joe the thought of you keeping it until you got the Beemer
Roadster with your special engine just came to me when you said
it might take a year to get. I wouldn’t manipulate you. Trust,
baby, trust.” She said, a little pissed for him to think that,
before she lost her temper a bit.

“If I wanted the fucking car, I would have bought it! I wouldn’t
need your approval. Now get dressed and I’m getting you out of
the house before you go crazy. You’ve come this far back and I’m
not going to lose you now. Mom said Dr Culver warned her you
might try to crawl into a shell, and I’m not letting it happen.
We’ll go, take the walk, look at the car and then find a place we
can make love outside, maybe up near Treachers Park. How would
you like me bent over the Mustang with my skirt pushed up over my
ass?” She said starting in a decisive voice before turning Joe to
the wall and pressing herself to him for the eye to eye
proposition.

“That sounds more like us than any ideas I’ve had lately. God, I
love you when you take control of a situation. . . . . . . .
dirty girl” Joe said as he slid from the wall and rushed to
change his clothes.


She let him pass but not before calling him out quickly, “And I’m
not a dirty girl, I just love you and have to have you all of the
time. Once I see you in the little blue AMERICAN roadster, I’ll
bet I’ll ready to go.”

They both laughed but Selena knew she had to get Joe out of his
protective shell. The outgoing lothario may have gotten past
having to have every woman he saw, but his dominant personality
always kept him in control of all situations. Suddenly he wasn’t
so sure of himself.

Selena was ready to go, but still no Joe appeared from the
bedroom so she went into see what was holding him up. There he
stood in front of the mirror with his face almost against it,
looking for wrinkles. Trying to smooth the little crow’s feet
around his eyes.

Suddenly it hit Selena. Joe at 50 had become worried about his
looks, his appeal.

“Joe, you’re still the sexiest man in any room, and could
probably have any woman you want. Being vain about your looks
will get you old fast.” She said as she put her arms around him
and looked from under his arm to his face in the mirror.

“Essy, I still feel 42, but I sure do look 50.”

“Up close in the mirror, you might look even older Joe. Once you
get out and in the swing again, in the pool in the summer, in the
gym now, and you start getting that good sleep again, you’ll be
fine. You have so little gray, and if you want to cover it up, I
don’t care. Do you know how sexy I find you?” She said staring at
his eyes in the reflection.

Selena pulled at him and they were off. They cruised the main
streets of town noting all of the new building they had missed
and eventually worked their way to Bishops Park. They parked
close to the walking trail and saw almost every car had a bike
rack.


“Damn Joey! We can buy bicycles now! Your knees are fixed! We
could pick up the bike path here. It splits the park and then
goes down to follow the river a bit and back here. I did that all
the time when I first started at PolyTech.” Selena exclaimed as
she pulled the Mustang in.

“I have a stationary bike down in the garage, unless your Dad got
rid of it. I had to stop using it long before I met you.” Joe
said looking back and forth over the landscape for people.

“Joe? We could ride together OUTSIDE. Not just for the exercise,
but for the fresh air, getting out. We’re not staying cooped up
in that house. Let’s get out and walk.”

Selena never stopped talking all through their walk, clinging to
Joe as they strolled, sometimes crunching the newly fallen leaves
as they filled parts of the path. When they came to the long part
of the path out of the tree groves Selena broke from Joe and
tugged at him.

“Come on, military pace now. Lucy always said to keep your arms
up and elbows tight to your bra line at military pace to give
high tits and a round ass. Wow, Lucy, there’s someone we have to
get back to. She wrote she’ll be in town next week to see us.”
Selena said as she picked up the pace and started breathing
heavy.

“The only high tits I want are yours, and I don’t have a bra
line. As for the round ass. . . . . .” Joe laughed as he joined
her.

“YOU still have a great ass Joe and this will help you keep it!”
Selena said as she saw Joe getting into it, feeling the
competitiveness.

Soon they were striding together and breathing together in the
cool air. Joe was surely starting to feel invigorated. They were
coming to the other starting point on the path, the one directly
across from Jerry Cahills Auto Plaza. Selena turned them into a
cool down zone with water fountains, benches and stretch bars.
They stood and got their breath and got a drink before Selena
tugged Joe towards Cahills.

They crossed at the crosswalk and walked to the big showroom
window where the blue Solstice Essy had talked about was.

“You go in and check that out. I saw something that caught my eye
in the side lot. I’ll be right in.” Selena told him as he
definitely had an eye for the blue car that reminded Selena so
much of his beloved Roadster.

There were 3 other browsers inside and a bank of 5 unoccupied
sales people. One was an attractive 40 something blonde in a blue
tight fitting knit dress. She had a thick sales book in her arm
held to her chest.

“I see something provocative in blue has caught your eye! My name
is Sarah Zee.” She said as she came up and handed him a sales
card, like a dog peeing on a tree to mark her spot.

“Uh, Joe. Nice to meet you” Joe said as he looked her up and
down, a move that was not lost on her and the fact she dressed
for the effect.

“We only have 3 of these left and there’s no dicking around with
them, I mean dickering with them. The price is the price. Very
rare and not made anymore, but full warranty, 5 years and 100,00
miles by GM and Jerry Cahills. We have one available for test
drive and I would love to go out with you. I can show you all
around the car and answer any questions.” Sarah said.

Joe’s face lit up and he said “Sure, I’d love to take it for a
ride.”

She smiled and winked and said she would be back in a minute as
she went to get the key.

Joe continued to look around the car when a second female sales
person came up, a younger redhead, but subtly more attractive and
business-like than the first.

“Are you being helped? I could get you in a Solstice TODAY. We’re
road tested and ready for you to slip into.” She said with a wry
smile in a tone the was suggestive

For the second time in a few minutes Joe had been come onto by 2
diversely different personalities. He felt a pudge in his pants
and suddenly became aware that he was standing back straight and
stomach tightened.

“No, no, no, no, I AM being helped, but thanks anyway.” Joe said
looking her up and down as he did the first.

She turned and walked away clicking her heels on the floor to
draw his attention to her “walk-away” that was quite pleasing to
his eyes. She hadn’t clicked that way when she walked over, but
she knew how to draw his eyes as she looked back to catch him
checking her rear and smiled at him before disappearing into a
cubicle.

Joe turned back there stood Selena, arms folded and smiling a sly
grin.

“If you think you’re rolling out of the lot with either of those
bimbos, you are sadly mistaken, Mister I’m Fifty and
Unattractive. What’s the matter? You finding out that the old
magic works?” She asked.

No, no, they just want to make a sale.” Joe said quietly. “We
won’t be gone long, just a little test drive.”

“Well, “Blondie big tits” is going to know that you are married
to me before she gets you in that car.” Selena said decisively.

Joe smiled and said “Yes dear, you’re right again dear.”

Selena was happy that Joe became aware that he still was
attractive and still considered “hunky” but suddenly felt
threatened, although she trusted Joe.

“There’s the Mens room, I’m going to hit that before I go out.
Don’t embarrass me if she comes back.” Joe said with a smirky
smile as he walked away while Selena bit her lower lip.

She had no reason to think Joe would stray, but now it was her
own vanity. A separation of nine years, being raped, and giving
birth, . . .  they all left her to think she might be used
merchandise in Joe’s eyes. In her heart of hearts she knew that
couldn’t be true as she looked out at the silver Solstice Sarah
Zee had just pulled into the presentation apron at the front of
the showroom.

Sarah got out and brushed her clingy dress down and strode
confidently toward the far side door to retrieve Joe. She looked
back to the hallway where Joe disappeared a moment ago to see if
he were coming and turned back to look at the car. Joe was just
getting in while Sarah was holding the door for him. She scooted
to the other side and the car took off!

Selena clenched her fists and steamed to think Joe had done this,
if only on principle.

In the car Sarah was totally professional showing him the
features of the car, asking him to make certain turns where he
could feel the cars performance while she bantered with Joe.

“I like it, I really do!” Joe said as he downshifted, made a
turn, and punched the accelerator. “Its feel and handling are
similar to my last car, my Roadster.”

Sarah suddenly turned in her seat and brought up one knee to sit
on her leg allowing a view way up her other thigh as her clingy
knit dress slid up.

“We could stop and have a coffee and talk about it there, instead
of the showroom.” She said as she patted her hand over his on the
stick.

Joe pulled his hand away quickly. “NO, I wouldn’t make a decision
on the car unless I spoke with my wife, who is back there waiting
for us.”

Sarah turned red for a moment and quickly straightened herself,
not accustomed to being “turned down” when she threw her hooks
out.

“Well then,” She said clearing her throat and staring forward,
“Let’s head back and we can all talk.”

“Believe me Sarah, there was a time when . . . .” He started to
say as he turned to meet her eyes, and she just nodded,
embarrassed still, adding “Yes, there WAS a time, be it a long
time ago. I was 20 and going to PolyTech. I met you at a kegger
for a frat you were legacy for, you took me to the Holiday Inn
and we spent Sunday in bed and I never saw you again. You showed
me that sex doesn’t have to be quick and dirty. I didn’t realize
it was you until you just looked at me.”

“I’m sorry.” Joe said quietly.

“No, don’t apologize. You’re as provocative now as you were then.
Not many men can ooze confidence, yet seem so . . . . I guess
accessible is the word.” Sarah said as she smoothed down her
dress.

When they pulled back onto the presentation apron Joe jumped out
of the car and near ran to meet Selena who was coming out.

“I really, really, like it baby. If we buy the blue one would you
be happy with it when I finally get my Roadster M?” Joe said as
he hugged her.

All her venom ran out right there as her Joe showed his true
colors.

“Anything that makes you happy, Joey!” She whispered in his ear
as she hugged him back.

Sarah Zee came into the showroom and called across the room,
“Joe, you and your wife should come to my cubicle where we can
discuss the car, OK?” She said as she pointed to where she was
headed.

The talk was quick and to the point, if they could get the blue
Solstice, they had a deal. Joe had a laundry list of options he
wanted added, things he read about on the internet including this
4G communication that would connect him to the world while
driving.

During the simple negotiations Joe and Selena revealed who they
were and their recent situation. They had cash for a deposit, but
checks had yet to arrive. A cashier’s check could be produced if
they needed it. Sarah took the obligatory trip “to see her
manager”, who came out to meet them, congratulate them, and tell
them they could arrange any payment method they wanted. Joe made
it understood they would basically pay cash for the car and to
call when it was ready.

They walked out of Jerry Cahill’s to cross the street to Bishops
Park and finish their walk. Selena beamed that she had an idea
that made Joe so happy.

“So, I did good picking out the right car for you?”

“Yes, you did. It’s not the M, but it’s something I really like
and it takes the sting out of not having my Roadster I loved so.
It’s like a small Corvette, and I don’t like Corvette’s because
they are too long for a single seater.”

“I was pissed when you snuck out the side door with Sarah.”

“There was no sneaking. I walked out of the Men’s Room and she
was coming up the hall with the keys and said “Let’s go”, so I
did.”

“I have to admit, when I saw her talking to you, her eyes lit up,
her nostrils seem to flair, and her facial color changed. She was
smitten by your looks and that thing you use to,  . .
to, . . . do whatever you do.” Selena said uncomfortably.

Joe stopped in his tracks. “Do whatever I do?”

“You know, to close deals and get a woman to, . . . do whatever
you want.” Selena said wishing she could rewind and erase her
words.

“Is THAT what I used to get you? Because if it is I would like to
know when I turned it on. Remember I pushed you away and you used
YOUR thing you do to reel ME in.” Joe said sarcastically.

Selena exhaled deeply. “My words came out wrong, but if you
thought your appeal was waning because of an age number you apply
to yourself, you’re wrong. I saw 2 women look a little wobbly
kneed while trying to deal with you.”

“Wobbly kneed?” Joe said keeping the sarcasm in his tone.

Selena was getting frustrated, not knowing if Joe was playing
with her or upset. She clenched her fists to her side and spat
out an  “UGH!”

“You KNOW what I mean! Tell me honestly, if you were on the prowl
which one of those women do you think you could have gotten into
bed?” She asked hoping to make a point.

“Both of them. They each had the look and made that eye contact
that goes beyond hello.” He admitted.

“So, I don’t have to listen to any of the foolish talk about you
getting old, looking old, and losing your appeal?” She asked as
she reached behind both of his elbows and pulled him close.

“I was paranoid and wrong. I just wasn’t seeing that I wanted to
see in the mirror, and perhaps you were right, I was looking too
close. Right now I feel fantastic and confident, something I
didn’t feel before, so thanks for getting me out here.” Joe said.

“Was it the come-on from “Blondie big tits” that got your juices
going?” She asked as if she would be hurt if she wasn’t the
reason.

“No, YOU got me going, getting me out here with a promise of
making love over the car. You fire me up every time.” Joe said
quietly before pausing.

“You,  . . um . . . ought to know, and you’ll be pissed, . . .
I’ve slept with the blond, years ago. I didn’t remember, she did,
but I do recall the situation.” Joe said holding her hands
tighter so she couldn’t pull away.

She went to pull away and Joe held her, “Now Selena, I was 32,
she was 20. I was a legacy for a frat at PolyTech. I gave $10,000
to the building fund for ChiPhi and there was a celebratory
kegger. I did meet a girl there who made drunken promises that I
took to the downtown Holiday Inn, that isn’t there anymore. I
didn’t remember it as being her, but it was a blonde with quite a
chest. Ten years before I met you, and I don’t even remember it
was her. She made that big an impression on me.” Joe said.

“What if you found out I shared my goodies with half the city?”
Selena said almost crying.

“Come on Essy, we’ve been through this before and from the day I
met you we have been our only loves and anything that happened
before that was just that. Let’s keep this day special.” Joe
begged her as he hugged her tightly.

“I guess the emotion of the rape and everything has me worried
that something has changed, but I know it hasn’t.” She squeaked
in his ear trying to stifle her crying.

“No, no, never Essy. I love you so much and so much more each
day. Nothing can change that. Come on, let’s finish our walk, and
go for that ride in Treachers Park.”
Joe said pulling at her arm as they walked arm and arm, then
breaking into an exercise pace.

After they finished the path back to the car they took off with
Selena driving and she headed just out of the city, climbing into
the nearby mountains to Treachers Park. It was officially closed,
but, picnickers and campers were allowed to use the facilities
until the first major weather change, usually the first frost or
snow, and then park rangers enforced the closed campground rules
except for the overlook areas.

Selena found an empty lot, one of the larger camping areas with
an L shaped parking lot with the leg of the L jutting back away
from the road. She parked at the end slot, backing the car in and
smiled at Joe.

“If we park here and someone comes, we’ll have a chance to get
straightened out, . . . what do you think?” She said shyly.

“I think you’re a genius.” He said with a chuckle as he went to
get out of the car. “But why did you back in?”

“It may be cool out, but I don’t want to be fucked over the hot
hood. The trunk will be perfect.” She said candidly, holding his
arm so he wouldn’t get out yet.

She leaned over and kissed him deeply and then paused to push her
seat all the way back. She turned and slid over the console
planting her lips on his. Joe slid his hand over her little skirt
and squeezed the balls of her ass, discovering she wore no
panties under the skirt. She groaned and rolled over in his lap
so she was face up in his lap and pulled his face to hers again.
His busy hands snuck under her light top and found her round,
pliant titties to squeeze as she groaned into his mouth.

She broke the kiss after a few moments and reached for the
steering wheel to pull herself up into a sitting position, then
backing her body over to console to sit up in his lap.

“Eat up my boobies, they need wicked attention.” She said as she
pushed her shirt up to expose her perfect round breasts that Joe
couldn’t resist.

He pawed and suckled at her nipples to her delight until he
became uncomfortable with her sitting on his growing package.

“I could snack on your titties all day, but I’ve got a real
problem growing below.” He said with a smile as she quickly
lifted herself off of him and slid across the console to her seat
and then out the door.

“C’mon Joey, there’s no one around.” Selena commanded as she
walked to the back of the car.

Joe liked the fact that Selena was being the aggressor and using
a little coarser language than she normally used with sex. They
usually made love, as opposed to fucking. Not that she never used
that kind of language, it was just she seemed out to prove she
could “fuck” as well as any of his previous sex-mates.

From the main park road you would have to look hard to see anyone
behind her car. So, when Joe walked behind the car with her she
turned him to lean against the back of the car and she reached
for snap on the walking pants he wore and snaked her hand inside
pushing his underwear over his hardness and getting her hand
under his balls.

“Is that a little more room down there?” She said as she bent
over and pulled his pants down a bit with her other hand as she
slid her lips over the head of his cock.

“Mmmmm, Mmmmmm. That’s my good cock.” She said lifting her head
from him for a moment before almost gagging on him and then
standing up. “Do you know how many times I dreamed about it? Not
just a cock, yours. I had my hands in my pussy most every night.
I had other patients trying to get in my pants, even though I
never said a word, for the most part. It was you that I wanted.
One of the male night nurses came in and wanted to jerk off with
me, they all heard me play with myself. I was afraid to shoo him
away and cause a fuss. He said he could turn off all the lights
and the cameras would never see. I know what he wanted, but when
I said “GO” real loud, he panicked and left. Most there never
heard me speak.”

She kissed him and put her arms around him, then turning the two
of them around so she was against the trunk.  She broke the kiss
and smiled at him, turning around and peeling the gray fleece
lined skirt up before leaning over the trunk wagging her ass to
be fucked.

“Come on Joe Johnson, fuck your dirty girl. Push that wet cock up
my pussy and fuck me good.” She demanded.

When she turned and bent Joe saw one of the physical features
Selena had that drove him crazy, her gorgeous ass. The swell of
her hips led to a full round apple that had no fault. It was
perfect and no matter how she bent or twisted, it was always
perfect with no creases or bulges. His cock raged in his hand at
the sight of her as he put a hand on the small of her back and
fit himself into the wet, pink, slit she displayed.

“OOOOOOOF!” She exclaimed as Joe did almost the same inside his
mouth as he pushed all the way into her.

He bent over her body, engulfing his arms around her and holding
the side of his face to her back.

“God, I love you so much Selena. You don’t have to act like a
dirty girl to make me want you. I like it, but YOU are the reason
I love you. I see you, or hear you, or smell you and I’m excited.
You are the magic that makes me love you. We WILL get old and our
looks WILL go away, but loving you will never change.” He said
candidly, overwhelmed by the moment.

“I don’t have to worry about losing you to one of those sex
pots?” She joked quietly.

“You’re all I want and need, never doubt me. Look what we’ve been
through.” Joe said wishing the moment would last forever.

Joe felt her flex herself on him and suddenly he remembered the
task at hand. He stood up straight and began to slide from her
grip and he pushed at her once again as she cooed, loving the
feeling of his cock in her.

Quickly Joe’s pace built to where he was pounding at her with the
slap of his hips to her ass the only sound in the air.

Suddenly she wailed not caring how loud she might be.

“ Ohh, Oh, Oh, AAEEEEEEEE!” she cried pushing back to his thrusts
as Joe saw the back of her neck turn white and then suddenly red
as her body convulsed on his cock.

He could hold back no longer and went for broke wanting to cum as
she did. He looked down at the dilated little asshole above the
soaked cock that blurred in and out of her, her juices flying in
the air. “Take it Essy, take it, TAKE IT!” He cried out as he
felt his balls empty into her as the sound of their squishy
communion went away as their juices soaked the situation. He fell
forward onto her, exhausted. They remained quiet as their
breathing returned to normal.

“Dirty little girl? I don’t think so.” Joe whispered as he heard
the plop of cum dripping from her pussy onto the pavement.
“You’ll always be my sweet Selena, my Essy. You think women like
that Sarah Zee offer me something you can’t, but you’re wrong.
Yes, there is a thrill with something strange, but to give and
receive the love we share so freely is the greatest thing in the
world. I may look and admire other women, and my nature is to
flirt back when I’m hit on. That’s part of my personality and I
do it all day long with you as well. Changing that would be
changing me. Never fear, we belong to only each other. We may
have had a nine year blank spot, but we are as hot for each other
as when we first got together.”

Joe felt himself slide from her and a stream of cum followed but
Selena only wanted to turn her tear filled face to Joe to kiss
him. “Your words are so sweet; you make me feel like the most
loved woman in the world. God, someone could have just pulled
right up to the car and I wouldn’t have seen them, I was so
wrapped up in that. We better straighten up ourselves.” She said
as happy tears still streamed down her face.

She popped the trunk lid before her and took out a roll of paper
towels, using one to wipe between her legs. She went to her
purse, as Joe wiped himself off, and retrieved her panties she
had taken off before they left. She stepped into them and put
another paper towel between them and her leaky pussy.

“Come on, let’s go home and shower. Besides, my phone has been
vibrating like crazy.” Selena said adjusting her undies and
slipping behind the wheel.

“Mine too! I wonder who it is.” Joe said as he got in and shut
the door and fished in the cargo pocket of his walking pants for
his phone.

“My call is Philly.” Joe said as Selena slipped her phone from
the waist pocket of her skirt and handed it to Joe.

“Hmm, yours is Philly too. We can call her from the house phone
when we get there.” Joe said putting both phones on the console.

Chapter 14

 Fall colors were late and on the drive home they were amazed at
some of the bright colors still so vibrant on the way home.
Little was said until Joe was suddenly struck by some of her
words before they made love in the park.

“Did you always imagine me in your little masturbation fantasies?
I mean, every night is a lot.” Joe said quietly as he looked at
her, her eyes fixed on the road in her own thoughts.

“Funny you say that, I was just thinking that too. Yes, you were
the only one. I always thought you would sneak in my room,
thinking you spent every day looking for me. That was why I
freaked out when the male nurse stood beside the bed with his
cock out saying he wanted to masturbate with me. His cock was
only 6 inches from my face and I know what he wanted. I always
fantasized you would wake me like that, standing there with your
cock out for me to suck and make happy for you. The other was you
crawling under the covers and licking my pussy and clit to wake
me. But, every night once I got in bed I was convinced I was in
Limbo and Philly was the angel who would bring me to heaven.
Nutty, huh?” She said, unsure of her state at the time.


“After the state I was in I am in no place to call anyone nutty.
Our minds lead us down strange paths and we have no control, it
seems. At least you remember everything about the time. I don’t
recall a thing.” Joe said reaching over to pat her thigh.

“Remembering may be a curse, like with me. I was so mad I
betrayed you.” Selena said quietly.

“PLEASE, get over that. I no more think you betrayed me . . . . .
. . . . You had no control and you damn near died trying to fight
him off. Now just stop that or maybe I WILL think you’re a little
nutty.” Joe said scolding her.

“Can we take a ride someday and hope to get a chance to see her?
I have to admit I’m curious.” Selena said changing the subject
fast.

“I’m not sure Philly would OK that for you, at least right away,
and she’s the one who can come up with her identity. Let’s begin
to put our lives back a bit more before we think about that. I
don’t think you need the emotional high or low it will cause.”
Joe said tenderly so she knew he was with her in her curiosity
and not just appeasing her.

“When do our lines go live?” She asked, wondering when they would
get their trading and monitoring capabilities back.

“They said it could happen today. I saw them working on the lines
yesterday and I thought it would be on line this morning, but
nothing as of when we left.” Joe answered, obviously anxious to
get started watching stocks and making some deals.

“How long until credit lines are open?” She wondered.

“As soon as we are wired I can do some bank transfers to prepay
anything until I re-establish a line of credit.” Joe answered
with a sigh.

“Remember, we have the houses, we have enough money and I’ll be
going back to work, as far as I know, . . .don’t get too cute and
try to show the world Joe Johnson is back. With the economy as
soft as it is we should lay low.” She said with a poke in his
ribs as she turned onto Sheridan and headed home.

As they turned into the blind drive and drove up Scott Hanson was
letting a man with a telephone truck into the house.

“You two don’t answer phones? I called each of you to come back
and let this guy in. You need a new modem to get the stuff you
want. Your stuff is 10 years old.” Scott said with a chuckle as
he walked the repairman in.

Joe took out his phone and there was an arrow beside the missed
call from Philly and it revealed 2 missed calls from Scott.

“We were busy Daddy. We took a walk, took a ride, and bought a
new car in between.”

“From the look on your face there was more than walking and
riding in your afternoon.” Scott said as a sly grin curled his
lip.

“We ARE married Daddy, wouldn’t hurt you and Mom to take “a ride”
some time too.” She said to him happy that she could be a little
more liberal with talk of such things.

“Why do you think I called both of you a couple of times before
finally having to come up here? I may have been busy myself.”
Scott said stone faced as he walked back into check on the
repairman.

Joe Johnson couldn’t believe his ears, to hear the ever stoic and
proper Scott Hanson speak so openly to his daughter, but he was
glad.

Before going into pepper the repairman with questions about the
lines he thought it best to return the call to Philly and he
punched the reply key on his phone waiting to have her answer.

“Hi Joe, is Selena with you? I would like to talk to you first.”
Philly said.

“She just stepped in the house talking with her Dad, I’m alone.
What’s up?”

“Jack Spagner is not the Father of that baby, but Selena is the
Mother. I know that much. In the DNA experiments where Emory
Richards kept the baby DNA he has quite a few other hospital
employees and I’m going to see if we can find a match to find out
who else raped her. They were all volunteered for the experiment
so it shouldn’t be a hassle.” Philly told him; sorry she had more
bad news for him.

“Did you screen it with mine?”

“Your DNA? Why?”

“We made love on our short lived honeymoon that night. I did have
the reversal and my sperm counts had to improve.” Joe said
hopefully.

“I don’t have your DNA, but Edison probably does. Can you call
Dr. Culver and release it for me?”

“Sure, I’ll do that now. What should I tell Selena?”

“Don’t hold anything back. She needs to trust us, and you
especially, in order to break down any walls she has left. Tell
her what we’re doing.”

“Test my DNA first before you do anyone elses, OK?”

“OK, I’ll be back to you tomorrow.” Philly said before hanging
up.

Joe walked into the house and Scott was walking out ahead of the
serviceman.

“He says your computers are a little behind the times for the
set-up you want, talk to him.” Scott said as passed the baton to
Joe.

“Where’s Selena?” Joe asked.

“On the phone in the bedroom, WSGG called for her as soon as she
walked in.”

Joe looked at the service guy and simply said, “All hell is
breaking loose at once here. My computers are a little old? Can
we upgrade?”

“That’s not us, Sir. However, speaking for myself, for the high
tech set-up I just put in, that old Gateway is past its
usefulness, even the OS is way, way outdated.” The young man said
honestly.

“Damn, I thought I could get by for a bit, until I caught up with
myself. I’ll just get a new one ordered. What would you
recommend?”

“First of all, let me congratulate you for finding your way home,
so to speak. Incredible story. Secondly, what you had before,
having a Mac and a Windows system, is still the best way to go
for what you seem to want to do. Your Father said you had them
talking to each other and could run anything, you might STILL
better do that to avoid conflicts and shutouts. There is a new
Mac OS and I think there’s a third build on Windows 7 for
business, . . Professional, I think it’s called. If you get
those, I would be glad to come back and reset you here, just to
see how it works. Here’s my card with my pager number. I’ll make
a special trip for you. I don’t live far from here.”

“Well, um . . . .OK,  . . . . um. . . (he said looking down at
his card) Francis! I’ll call you.”

“Please call me Franny. It would be my pleasure to help you out.”

Joe showed Franny the way out and went back to the bedroom,
noticing that Scott had hustled his way out of the house and was
headed down the drive as Franny was leaving.

“Maybe he did have a promise waiting for him.” Joe thought as he
made his way to the bedroom and saw Selena walking out beaming
bright, smiling ear to ear, still on the phone.

He opened his cell and called Dr. Culver to give her permission
to release his DNA to the lab doing the work for Philly Flowers.
He ended his call just as Selena was walking back to him as she
wrapped her call with WSGG.

She threw her arms around Joe, so excited she could hardly speak.
“The boys want me back. I can stay as long as I want, but if I
give them 18 months and get Deneigh on track and trained, they’ll
be satisfied and call my service 12 years as far as the value of
my seat in the partnership. My parents never dissolved it to
leave it as part of the PolyTech endowment.” She bubbled.

“So it’s been gaining value all these years?”

“Well, gaining and losing. The Wall Street debacle that the
government created hurt a lot of their clients and shook their
credibility, but they never wavered, Ross said. Those who took
their advice and weren’t swayed by the media reports and
mistruths are all back to where they were or better. Our value is
up quite well, Slim managed it for my parents.” She reported.

Then the bubbly, cheerful, mood seemed to run out of her as she
took a look of deep pondering.

“Now that I know they want me back,  the question is, do I want
to go back? Did we miss so much life that we can never regain it?
Do we take a bow and fade off? I told them that if I declined and
didn’t return I would pay back their investment in me so they
could use it for another student. The new partner, Jamaica
Browne, went through a lot the same hoops as me, but Ross isn’t
as happy as he thought they might be with her. She has 4 and half
months of probation yet and he hopes I might help her out as
well.” She said in serious tones, not having any real answers
yet.

“New York can be a tough place to make it like you did.” Joe
said.

“I’m sure she doesn’t have a centering force like you there, to
teach you The City either.” Selena said, re-hugging her face to
Joe’s shoulder and holding it there, thinking.

“So it sounds like you’ve already made the decision to go back.”
Joe said, a little dejected they hadn’t talked it over.

“No, No, No! I’m like the actress who is nominated for the Oscar
and loses saying the honor was being nominated. I’m so happy they
WANT me back, and would be excited to HAVE me back. Joe I’ve been
out of the loop and away from it all for 9 years and they haven’t
skipped a beat in their respect for my talents. Do you know how
humbling that is? They have 2 prospective partners who are a
little shy on the extra mile you have to go, and they want me to
hold their hands to see if they can get through, . . . . when
they have 3 or 4 of the best financial minds on earth there. Come
on Joe, think about it!  BUT, you know I wouldn’t make any
decision like this without you. We have to plan how we continue
our lives, what we’ll do, how we’ll do it. It’s another reason I
think the trip to Jamaica and Negril is important. We can be away
and think without distraction. And . . . . . . make love 5 times
a day and not wear clothes all day if we don’t want to.” She said
defending herself and adding her own wish for the beach at
Negril.

“I wasn’t convinced about the Jamaica trip until now. We have a
lot to think about and a lot to decide upon. Sure, the thought of
living our lives away in our new homes and moving from one to
another on a whim is what we wanted and talked about before, BUT,
doesn’t it seem like there are challenges and tasks in life that
we’ve missed or passed over? . . . or can we get by without them?
If we really try to bring a child, or even two, into the world,
can I enjoy fatherhood when I’m 60, or 70?” Joe mused.

“Could we enjoy parenthood once school starts and we have to stay
in one place for 9 months every year? That’s the one bothering
me. Those 9 years were the time we were to use to settle into all
of this and send our child off to college before you were 60.”
She said still holding her face to Joe’s shoulder while pondering
aloud the thoughts she had heretofore kept to herself.

“The nine years may have taken away our opportunity to have a
baby? I thought it was so important to you.” Joe asked, knowing
it was her dream.

“It is,” she said starting to cry, “It might seem selfish, but I
don’t want to share you until you’re 70 or more and then get our
freedom if he or she goes to college and have you too old to
enjoy our total freedom. We could board a child at some fancy
school, but then WE wouldn’t be raising it to our ideals. I’m so
confused and don’t want to bring a child into this unless we
settle down. We haven’t settled down in all the time we’ve been
together and being gadabouts is the prize we aimed for.” Selena
said, continuing to cry as reality was settling in.

“Fuck! You see? Not thinking my age would be a problem as we got
older has become the problem. I’ve screwed up your life like all
the naysayers said I would.” Joe said rubbing her back and
feeling a little sorry he said the words aloud.

“Don’t be a jerk Joe! I have NO life without you. Loving you is
my greatest accomplishment, no matter what you think. I never
would have made it past the probation on Wall Street without you,
I would be nowhere!! Damn you for saying that!” She said as she
slapped the arm she had been hugging repeatedly.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I guess I want wallow in self pity.  . . .
. OH, I almost forgot after YOUR phone call. The DNA for the
child you had does match you, but not Jack Spagner. She’s trying
to get the OK to check the rest of the DNA in the sample files
the employees volunteered for in the experiment Philly told us
about.” He told her after his own mea culpa, keeping in he and
Philly’s no holding back promise.

“Oh my GOD! Have they checked YOUR DNA? I can’t believe anyone
else in that hospital laid a hand on me. What if that baby was
OURS?” She asked with hope and regret in her tone.
“I thought we decided NOT to interfere with the girl’s life, no
matter what. She could never be ours, but Philly IS getting my
DNA profile from Edison.” Joe said sadly.

“Not “ours” as to take possession, but ours as in made by our
love, by our own egg and seed. Taking the child away from her
parents would only serve us and cause so many problems. When you
hear of that happening I think it’s so selfish.” Selena said
clarifying, “but I would love to see her, see what she’s like.”

“Well, we don’t know, and it’s not probable that she is “ours”,
so let’s not go off . . . .”
Joe started to say before Selena turned to him and pushed him
against the wall and pasted her mouth to his, starting a long
deep tonguing kiss.

She was almost breathless when she parted her lips from his
saying, “You realize you’ve filled me more than once with your
juice this week, and if it is potent we might have something
going on right now.”

“ . . . and if we do?” Joe asked.

“I guess we have to make plans for 3 then.” She said nuzzling her
lips to his neck.

“That would be OK, I’d accept the plans and changes it would
bring. It would scuttle the decision making process we just spoke
of and make it easy for us.” Joe said holding tightly.

She pulled back to meet his eyes and gave him a mischievous leer.
“You realize that until I get a patch or IUD or something, all
future deposits will have to go to the loading or unloading
doors, nothing in the playpen.”

“So eloquent, my horny little wife.” He laughed.

“What can I say? I love making love with you and it doesn’t
matter how. I wish you knew the joy and thrill it gives me to
have you cum in my mouth and hear you groan in pleasure. I mean I
enjoy you fucking, sliding in and out of me, but you’re puffing
and huffing, working. When you’re lying back and I’m in control .
. . . GOD! . . I just got wet thinking about it. We haven’t done
the hiney nasty in nine years, I was hoping to save that for
Jamaica.” She cooed, but she was obviously becoming distracted by
other thoughts.

“Whoa, you’re supposed to hit your sexual peak around 40. You’ll
have screwed me freakin’ silly to death by then.” Joe said,
incredulous at her candid talk of sex.

“Yeah, but what a way to go though, huh? I’ll just find you a
good heart and a dick doctor to be sure you’re in shape for me if
I get any hornier.” She said oddly deadpan and then turned a bit
ashen.

Selena suddenly got to a real nervous point, like she had been
holding it back, hiding it, shifting from one foot to another
while she held Joe close then looked into his eyes and then away,
like she was searching for another focal point before her eyes
burst forward with tears and she held her face close to Joe’s
shoulder sobbing, not wanting to bawl out loud, though she was
ready to.

“If that child is ours, it was conceived in our love we were
robbed by the terrorists, robbed by that fucking bastard who
raped me and everyone who took part in the covering up. Our
child!! Our baby! Stolen from us!” She managed to blurt out
before she started bawling hard into Joe’s shoulder.


Joe enveloped her in his arms and snuggled his face as close to
hers as he could.

“Essy, Essy, my dear Selena. IF that is our baby, she is now a
grown up little girl with loving parents. We should be thankful
for that. It hurts, God it hurts, to think that there maybe
someone out there that is the product of our love that we can
never know. But if some had their way it would have been aborted
and we might not ever know about any of this. We can make the
best of this, my sweets. Just think of what a miracle she is. If
we want to devote our lives to a child we can try to have
another. As long as I’m with you I’ll be happy, I promise.” He
said trying to comfort her.

“No, no, we shouldn’t try to bring in a child now.” She sobbed,
“God, you’ll be 72 and I’ll be 50 when he or she goes off to
college, and that still has no guarantees we’ll be free to do as
we want. It wouldn’t be fair to any of us; we’d be of three
generations! Look at some of the bending we’ve had to do to fit
together. No, no children now. I can face up to that. Just let me
cry it out, Joey.” Selena said as she let her anguish out.

Joe truly did want whatever made Selena happy, even if that meant
bringing a child into the world at this late age. Joe always
dealt in reality and if that is what it took to make her happy
and complete, he would go along because she made him so happy and
complete. But she had bought into the retired bliss they had
originally planned that would have made their lives complete. The
nine year bite that was taken from their lives had made all of
that hard to attain unless you subtracted the planned child.
Living in 4 homes around the world was not a good formula for
raising a well centered child. Well traveled, yes, but not a
centered as you might want having a normal circle of friends and
school mates.

Selena pulled away, and then looked back to Joe and kissed him
quickly.

“I love you so much. I know whatever we do, we’ll be happy. I’m
going to shower now.”

“I thought we were going to shower together?”

“Give me a little alone time. If your cock is in the shower with
you I’ll just get distracted, not that it wouldn’t be fun, but we
have all day. OK?” She said with a little pout.

Joe went to the bedroom and gathered a clean change of clothes
and lay on the bed waiting for her to get out. He was disturbed
to hear her crying in the shower, sobbing and talking to herself,
but he knew this was her way with dealing with the disappointment
she knew was looming all along since they began to discuss the
future. In his mind he almost hoped she were pregnant right now
so decisions would be made for them by God and fate.

In the shower Selena was about cried out. Her little dreams of
frolicking with her little boy or little girl in the yard were
all dashed, but somehow the disappointment was blunted a bit to
know that she truly did have a child in the world, although she
might never know her. She only hoped she was happy and well taken
care of, which was why she wanted to see her and maybe help her
and her family along. Selena knew thoughts like that were folly,
because she never wanted to interfere, but knowing they could
help soothed her somehow. As she dried she looked into the mirror
and saw her swollen eyes. She went to the medicine closet and
took out a chemical cold pack, wondering if it were any good
after all the years past. As she broke the chemical pack inside
with the ball of her hand she immediately felt the coolness
emanating. She wrapped her hair, sat on the toilet, and sat back
resting her head on the stack of towels on top of the tank. She
put the cold pack over her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

Joe was worried about her state of mind, as she was taking so
long, but he was half dozing when she opened the door to look for
him.

“Come on sleepyhead, it’s your turn!” She said with a bright
smile for Joe.

He was surprised to see her so refreshed and her outlook improved
as he kissed her walking by her into the shower.

As he showered he continued to marvel at the turn of events in
their lives. The merry-go-round didn’t seem to stop as he waited
for normalcy to set in. He still hoped to spend the afternoon
becoming familiar with his new investment software and equipment.
He just began to relish the thought of “escape” with his
financials Selena knocked on the door and called in to him, “I
just did a pee stick, two of them to be sure, . . I am NOT
pregnant now.”

“Good or bad, for what it’s worth, it’s good to know.” Joe said
as she closed the door and went about getting dressed.

He wondered if she had taken into account that they just had
copulative sex not much more than an hour ago, and that would
never show yet. He made a mental note to have her do another “pee
stick”, as she called them, in 2 weeks.

When Joe had gotten out of the shower he found Selena back in the
media room and she was fiddling with the new communications tools
and the computer. They had dual screens so he could see what she
was doing and vice-versa. She was at the Wall Street Global Group
site reading about each of the principles and the special
dedication to her.
“You’re getting the bug, aren’t you?” Joe said with an approving
smile.

“Yes and no, I’m not sure I would do it without you there every
night. I never want to spend another night alone, without you.
That’s a lot to ask of you and so unfair.” She said wistfully.

“What makes you think I WANT to spend a night away from you? I’ll
go where ever you go, and if going back to work there is what you
have to do, you should do it. I want you to be happy. How about
if I check out the building where our old townhouse was? If we
find a vacancy there we can give it a try.”

“That was a Gordon Phelan property wasn’t it?” Selena asked
sadly.

“Mmmmm, might have been. Old Gordo deserved a better fate, not as
lucky as us.” Joe said, unsure. “He did a few things for me then,
it might have been his. God, Selena, you’re opening so many new
doors in my mind and every door has an unanswered question. We
should spend a day trying to find out what happened to who and
tie up loose ends.”

“Well, here’s another, Lucy has written me a few times and will
finally be getting to town this weekend. She’s avoided any
reference I made to Jeromy, and she’s avoided actually talking to
me on the phone. So, I’ve only done email with her, but I do know
she’s a buyer with a big toy concern that has 300 stores.”

“Didn’t she work as an overnight stocker for a toy chain while in
college, like in a district warehouse?” Joe thought aloud.

“Yes, she would pull the orders for the district and then deliver
the local store and stock it, as I remember.”

“Toys huh?” Joe said, “I thought she was a bio major going for
pre-med or mortuary school or something.”

“I honestly don’t remember. She was going back for a Masters in
something. She talked about being a student as a career, for a
laugh.”Selena said not wanting to admit that the 9 years left her
fuzzy on a few details.

“Well, let’s plan when we go to Jamaica and then when we give
Wall Street Global an answer. Before we do any of that we should
go to New York and see everything first hand. Sit in your old
office, see what a day is like, 2 or 3 if you want. Then we’ll
stay in The City and get a feel for it all. We have so many
people to see there, it’ll be fun.” Joe said, somewhat calling
her bluff on everything.

“OK, I’ll call Ross Curran and arrange to be there on Monday
morning. We’ll come home Thursday morning and see if we can’t get
out of here by the following week to Jamaica. See if Joseph can
get us in the Four Seasons and I’ll start working on contacts we
need to make in The City.” She said without a stutter or hitch in
her plans.

Joe was impressed that she really DID have a game plan for it all
and he was willing to go right along with it. While she began to
familiarize herself with current stock trends with the new
computer and software, Joe hit the phones beginning to make the
arrangements he promised her.

Although he had made some contact with old friends, this was the
first opportunity to really reacquaint with special people like
Joseph, who was now the Concierge at The Four Seasons. He wanted
to get into a long involved conversation and Joe stopped him,
“Joseph, you saw the press conference and read all of the stories
and I really don’t want to relive this over and over. Just treat
me the way we should be after not seeing each other for 9 years.
Just let me ask, how is Shanna and your daughter Shannon?”

“Shanna and Shannon are fine and so are our 2 boys, Joey and
Shane. We’re still in the same place, it’s a little small but so
close to work makes it perfect.” Joseph said proudly.

“Congratulations on the boys, any plans for more?”

“Not right away, with Shannon plus the boys, 4 and 6, it’s a lot
of work for Shanna, plus she has been stringing for a fashion
column in the Times. Shannon is 10 now and can help her Mom out a
lot, but . . . .”

“I understand. So do you think you can get us in our old suite
for a few days?” He asked.

“I’ve been checking while we were talking and I think I can
jockey a few people around that arrive Sunday as well, just let
me check with the Rooms and Client facilitator.” Joseph said
putting him on hold for a moment.

“No, no one requested your room specifically, so you’ll be all
set. Dinner with us on Sunday night, for sure, OK?” Joseph said.

“Sounds good, just let me run it past Selena, she’s on her phone
making New York plans as well. I’ll call you back, OK?”

“Sounds good, I’ve got to run. Work calls.” Joseph said as he
clicked off the call.

Joe immediately looked through his notes for the number he was to
call at the State Department to put the wheels in motion for a
quickie passport for Jamaica. He waited for Selena to get off her
phone calls to give the news on Joseph and Shanna when his phone
rang.

“Joe Johnson! This is Senator Merrill Jackson. I’m so glad you
want to take advantage of our offer to get you your passports
back for Jamaica. Please call me Jack, as my friends do, Merrill
is so formal. I assume you want to do this quietly, I only ask
that when you come home that we arrange a picture of me with you
and your wife. It won’t have to say anything except that we cut
some red tape to get your passports back, and leave it at that.
The Postal Service will call you for updated passport photos.
I’ll bet we can turn you around in 10 days or less.” Senator
Jackson blathered, taking charge.

“Well, uh . . . . Jack! I guess I really don’t have anything else
to ask you.”

“Well, it’s just that the Governor, Secretary of State and a few
others want to use this for a photo op and promotional piece. I
think, from what I saw, that you want to keep a low profile, and
while I DID ask you for a photo, it’s more for my wall than
anything. I’m not up for re-election for 4 years. I won’t ask you
to shill for me, or even ask your affiliation, OK?” He said
sincerely.

“Fair enough! I’ll wait to hear from the Postal Service and
follow up with your secretary if there are any problems.” Joe
said.

“That’s a deal. Be well and good-bye for now.” The Senator said,
hanging up.

Normalcy was creeping back into to the lives of Selena and Joe as
they each broke from the shells that their ordeal had built
around them.

Chapter 15

Friday came and still no word from Philly on the DNA study using
Joe’s file, but they had picked up the Blue Solstice and spent a
good amount of time riding around, breaking it in. Joe took it on
a few local low mountain trips running it through its paces,
making sure he knew the handling and feel. As much as he hated to
admit it, it felt like a German precision auto in many ways and
he was quite satisfied. He was especially happy to know that when
he and Selena changed cars she was going to get a dependable car
that would serve her well in any situation. He was calling the
car a short-vette or poor mans Vette when he first got it, but
began to refer to it as his Blue Solstice or The Pontiac as he
gained respect for it.

Saturday morning came and Selena began what was a normal Sunday
Morning chore in the old days, laying out the travel cases for
another week in New York. When 911 occurred they were, more or
less, living in New York, but prior to that they were only there
4 or 5 nights a week, depending if they drove in Sunday night or
Monday Morning.

She was carefully folding some of her new unworn things as she
prepared her attire for each day she planned to spend at Wall
Street Global Group, when their home phone rang. Joe had been on
the computer when the caller ID popped up on his screen.

“Essy, it’s Philly. Why don’t you come in here and we’ll
speakerphone.” He called up the hall.

She was already on her way in, sensing this was “the call” and
sat next to Joe intertwining her fingers with one of his hands as
he clicked to answer.

“Hi Philly, we’re on speakerphone, so we’re both here.” Joe said
answering.

“Hello, I hope you’re both doing well. I have the news you’ve
been waiting on and you can decide if it’s good or bad news. The
baby that Selena gave birth to was most definitely the product of
both of you. There is no doubt.” Philly said as she left the
words to hang for Joe and Selena to consume.

The silence was deafening to Philly who wondered how Selena would
accept the news.

“Selena?” Philly asked after 20 or 30 seconds.

“I’m here,” she said with a flutter in her voice. “I sort of
expected this to be the case. That night was so special and I
felt so different the next morning. After your call the other day
I spent some alone time to accept the fact this could be true and
I recalled wanting to say something to Joe when he was driving me
back to work that day, but obviously that opportunity never
came.” She said while fixing her eyes to Joes before continuing.
“I’ve decided that this is a good thing for us in the fact it was
something we wanted to happen, and it did. We would have wanted
to raise our own child, but fate made that impossible for us
then, and improbable for the future. Yet still, our love will
live on somewhere in this girls life, hopefully.”

The line stayed cold for a few minutes as Philly swallowed
Selena’s words and evaluated the tremendous progress she had made
in her recovery. Before she spoke, Joe broke in.

“It’s reality, Phyll. We don’t think it would be fair to all
three of us if we brought another child into the world now, but
knowing she is out there makes a difference.”

“I could have called you yesterday with the news, but I did a
little investigating for you. She is in a wonderful home with 2
parents married 15 years now. She’s very athletic, playing little
league baseball, gymnastics and currently in an indoor girls
soccer league. She’s an A+ student, jumped to the 5th grade. She
is 8 years and almost 6 months old, born on Mother’s Day, May
12th 2002. Her adoptive mother ran a day care pre-school so she
was essentially learning numbers and words with the other
children. She did try to go to kindergarten, but complained she
was in baby school. Deciding she was socially mature enough to
handle it, she was placed in 1st grade at 5 years old, and then
skipped 3rd grade because of her reading and writing skills. She
is an 8 year old, in class with mostly 11 year olds, but she
looks and acts mature enough that she goes un-noticed.” Philly
said, as if reading.

“Where did you get this information from?” Joe asked while Selena
beamed with pride, as her eyes got wet and she fought tears.

“She’s in a huge rural school district and I combed it for
familiar names and I found a college roommate of mine. I had her
ask an administrator and counselor if she knew of her and she
gushed that she was “so special”. Now, you promised before that
you wouldn’t try to find her and I’ll hold you to that.” Philly
said before Selena qualified their promise.

“Well, we would like to see here, and I mean that in the literal
sense, see her, and not interact with her. Her life sounds
idyllic and I wouldn’t want to change that.  I’ve,  . . er . . .
. . WE have come to terms with the fact that having our child in
the world is still a testament to our love and that getting
involved with her would serve no one any good. Philly, I think
you’ve learned in the last couple weeks that we handle reality
well once we’re together and serve our support systems. I really
would like to see her. I know it would be both joyful and
heartbreaking.”


“Let’s wait a few months until you’re situated in your life and
your future and then explore a way to possibly see her. Now I
want you both to promise me, and promise each other you won’t do
anything stupid concerning this.” Philly said. “I’ve done a lot
more than I should have on this and could get into some privacy
issue violations. Do we all understand?”

“Yes, we’ll police each other if we have to.” Joe said as Selena
kissed his hand.

“Please do, I’ve got enough shit raining on me here and I don’t
need any legal problems to jeopardize my job.” Philly said as her
voice broke.

“Is there anything we can help with? Now that we’re getting on
our feet here we have a lot of resources at hand. Just know you
can depend on us, you’ve been so great in getting us together.”
Joe said, feeling concern.

Philly broke down and cried, regretting she let her emotions leak
through.

 “Maybe I just need to talk to someone and get it off my chest.
My husband left me and my life is a mess. I did something stupid
a long time ago, I had an affair with an old boyfriend. It was so
long ago that I thought I could get it off my chest, proving I
had moved on from it since our marriage had flourished so much
since then. I was wrong. He was devastated and walked out the
door. He’s been back a few times to get things when I’m gone, but
he won’t answer my calls and won’t answer his page at work. I
want to stalk him and face him, but my job is so involved right
now that I can’t. I’m in a partnered practice and I have
commitments.”

“You definitely have to face him. Leave him a note at home where
you know he’ll see it and pour your heart out, letting him know
you can’t live like this, not knowing where he actually stands,
since he won’t talk. Give him a time and place to meet and talk
and see what happens. He has to know you still love him. Just
word the proposal carefully, and good luck.” Selena said to the
speakerphone as she stood and hugged Joe’s neck as she spoke.

“Selena may be right, he needs to know how you feel, and that
you’re hurting. If he still loves you, and you know he does,
he’ll want to come to your aid. Just be sure you give him a
definite time and place.” Joe said.

“You’re talking about a long term marriage and relationship going
down over a single, regrettable act. He has to face up to it now,
just like you did when you admitted it. Remind him that you
flourished as a couple even though the affair existed and he
wasn’t aware of it. It was a flaw and we all have flaws. If your
love for each other is true forgiveness is part of the whole
package. You know there are happy couples who have an argument
and let tempers flare, causing one of them to make a regrettable
statement. One of them takes offense and walks out the door and
ends the relationship, over a single word or phrase said in
anger. Don’t let this happen to you. Save yourselves.” Selena
added.

“I suppose that’s a good idea, and with the weekend coming we
both may have more free time to meet. Thanks for your concern and
I’ll talk to you both soon. Goodbye, you guys.” Philly said as
she hung up.

Joe and Selena hugged as she sat on his lap in the computer
chair. She kissed and sucked at his neck as she cried quietly,
tears running down her face.

“The baby we always wanted happened, conceived in our love, and
after all you went through she seems to have survived to be
normal. I was afraid that all of the drugs and turmoil they put
your body through would have produced a flawed baby. We are just
as perfect as we thought.” Joe said with a sad chuckle as he
hugged her tighter.

“I suppose that, if not this way, we would have no child. I just
can’t accept her never knowing us, or us her.” Selena whispered
through her ragged voice.

“She’ll be told she was adopted at one point, she’ll need that
information to go through life. At some juncture in time we’ll
have to let the parents know who we are and if she ever wants to
seek us, we are willing to be found.” He told her as his eyes
welled up and he rubbed her back to soothe the pain she felt
right then.

“Do you suppose if the parents knew some of the circumstance of
WHERE their baby came from and then saw our story, our pictures,
that they might see the resemblance, because, they said she
looked mature enough to pass as a 5th grade student. I suspect
she has a lot of your features. If that’s the case, they know we
are out there. I suppose that’s a wishful dream.” Joe said
exhaling deeply, letting Selena fall back a little so he could
face her nose to nose.

“We have to compose ourselves and get back to our task at hand.”
He said as she nodded and hugged him once more before standing
and walking back to her packing.

Joe watched the sway of her cute ass and felt a charge in his
loins. 10 years ago he would have stood and acted on the jolt to
his loins, but today he let it pass. He never loved her more than
at this moment, but, proving his love was something they didn’t
need to constantly show anymore. There were times and places when
their ardor would overflow and the thought he had at that moment
would come out of the vault to be cashed in.

“Joe?” She called out, “Do you think we can get a suit off the
rack for you today to hold you until you see a tailor in New
York?”

“I suppose.” He said dreading not having something made for him.
“Hopefully no one will see me in department store rags.”

Life had restarted once again for Joe and Selena, their knowledge
of what they learned that morning tucked away for another day.

The day of packing, shopping, studying the market, and making New
York City arrangements ended early for them. While Joe caught the
sports scores Selena got up to shower and get ready for bed. He
decided that riding through the mountains with the top down had
left him a bit gritty as well and he walked into the bedroom just
as she came out of the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around
her.

“No hugs for your greasy face and body, I was filthy from the top
down ride. I’ll be in bed, I’m so tired.” She said as she made a
cross with her fingers, as if to shoo a vampire away.

Joe chuckled and went in and stripped and washed himself top to
bottom as well and longed for a long restful sleep for the early
start in the morning. He found a pair of boxers on his side of
the nightclothes pantry and took a towel to finish drying his
hair as he opened the door to go to the bedroom. There, Selena
was a sight curled up on the bed as if waiting for Joe to pull up
the sheet for them. She had fallen asleep and her sheer white
teddy had ridden up to show the bare bottom he so longed to look
at.

Once again he felt the familiar tingle in his loins of wanting to
make love to her, taste her, and feel her body next to his, but
he let the urge pass. He finished drying his hair went to her
mirror and combed it before taking the sheet and, in one motion,
slid into bed pulling the sheet over both of them. He closed his
eyes and stretched his whole body from the tips of his pointing
toes to his inter-twined fingers behind his head. He held the
stretch as long as he could and just as he was about to let his
rigid muscles relax he felt the weight of Selena upon his chest
as she laid her head and upper body upon his as she rest her head
just over his heart. He felt the warmth of her cheek there framed
by the coolness of her just dried hair.

“I love you, Joe. You make me feel so complete. You help me
understand and accept the things this world hurls at us when I
can see no answer or reason. You hurt with me, you joy with me.
We really are one. I’m so glad you’re my husband.” She whispered
through a breath Joe knew was on the verge of tears.

He exhaled a deep cleansing breath from his stretch and put his
hand on her head as he felt a warm tear fall to rest on his skin.
He stretched his other arm to lay a hand on the rise of her
bottom.

“You know that I could say the same to you, you are the rest of
me and I love you more than words can say.” He told her as his
voice broke as well.

She clenched him hard to herself as if someone might try to take
him away.

“I want to make love to you with my hands and my mouth, and for
you to do the same to me. I know you’re tired and hope you don’t
think that’s too selfish.” She said sincerely.

“I would spend my dying breath loving you, if I had to.”

“Keep that a long way off, we have so much to enjoy in our lives
together and we’ve been so close to our mortality, and that
scared me, thinking I might never get to make love to you again.”
She said as she rose back to her knees and shifted her body so
she could face his tenting boxers.

“I’ve had you in my mouth so many times and each time is more
exciting than the last. The velvet feel of the tip on my tongue
and the pulse of your heart on the big vein against my tongue
when I close my mouth over you, THAT’S so exciting. You taste so
delicious and masculine, I can’t wait for you to take these off.”
She said as she reached through the front slash and pulled him
out and covered the tip with her lips and tongue.

“Mmmm, there is no taste in the world like you. It flares my
nostrils when I inhale and taste you, and what it does to my
pussy you’ll taste later. Let me get these off you.” Selena
purred as she clenched the waist band and encouraged him to raise
his ass up so she could remove shorts.

“Oooohh, your balls look so full, you only had me yesterday. Have
you been staring at my ass again? I know it makes your cock jump
when I walk away, that’s my stealth tease. I know I don’t even
have to try.” She said as she filled her hands with their weighty
cum treasure and she pushed her mouth over him again, lightly
working her tongue and jaw as she manipulated the creamy feel of
his sack.

“I know how sexy you are, and I know how you look outside of
those clothes. But, when it’s covered and I see your form, I just
go crazy.” Joe groaned as he arched his back in shudder.

“Really, what are you going to do when I swing my leg over and
put my ass in your face?” She whispered before she sunk her mouth
over him and did just that in a somewhat crab-walk.

The ass he so admired was now presented before his eyes close up.
The smooth curvature of the moons of her bottom ran deep into the
usual pantied mystery of what lay in between, the fleshy mound on
which her visually percepted virginal vagina was mounted. The
thick lips were just blossoming as she spread herself over his
face. A few swipes of his tongue would turn what looked like that
of a young girl to a dewy coral set of lips that led to a mouth
hungry to be probed by a man’s penis. A clear drop of woman fluid
hung at the hairless upper juncture where her clitoris lay. He
snaked his tongue to capture it and touched the electrical field
surrounding that magic button and he felt her mouth thrust down
hard over his penis. Hungry for more of the same he swiped his
tongue back again
and drilled hard on her sex nerve.

She pulled her mouth off of him and gripped his wet cock using
her other hand to bring a ball from his sack to her lips as she
gently stroked him. The shiver that went through him forced his
face up a bit, his tongue tip following the groove of her slit
and skidding into her asshole as he instantly recognized the
bittersweet flavor. He mashed the flat of his tongue to it as she
lifted her head to consume the head of his dick, before he
recoiled his tongue and drove its tip to its wrinkled center. The
intrusion sent her mouth over him hard, momentarily past the
opening of her throat causing her to choke and give him up and
call out,
 “Oh Joe fuck me in my hiney. Let me feel you there again.”

Joe didn’t hesitate from his licking, only to say, “I thought you
wanted to save it for Jamaica.”

She continued to pump her mouth over him, slowing as she thought
his words over. She let him free and arched her back away from
his mouth.

“You’re right, but push me over. I’ve got a doozie in the
chamber.” She knowing she had been so close to cumming but not
getting it yet.

Joe pulled her back to his face and drove his tongue to her clit
and licked like he was mad at it, as she suckled the head of his
cock and she stroked him. Then he drove his middle finger of his
left hand abruptly up her little poop-chute causing her to stun
loudly around his cock before pushing her mouth fully over him,
into her throat.

As he fucked his finger in and out of her spit slickened hiney
she began to rock her face over him in earnest. He knew he
couldn’t last long and sucked hard at her clit as he punched at
her little hole. Just as he began to spurt into her mouth she
began her orgasm, squeezing his finger tight in her ass and
pushing her pussy hard to his face. She screamed around his cock
as she swallowed his sex juice, at last satisfied, stopping only
when she became exhausted. She licked lightly at his balls before
falling over beside him, his middle finger slurping from her.

When they both caught their breath she got up and threw Joe her
damp hair towel to clean himself and she went to the bidet to
rinse and wipe herself, coming back to cuddle and go to sleep.

“Jamaica should be interesting, your finger felt like a rolling
pin in there.” She said with a giggle and they quickly dozed off
exhausted.

When the local radio news gently awoke the lovers in the morning
it was the first time they truly felt like life had returned
after the nine year hiccough. They were going to shower and get a
quick coffee and drive to New York City, as they had dozens of
times before. Joe would check in to the Four Seasons after
dropping Selena off at Wall Street Global offices. Although this
would be a day of reacquainting and renewing old relationships, a
process Joe had grown to revile, he was excited. He hated having
to repeat all of the things he had explained over and over again,
but he felt with his friends in The City there would be less of
that.

New York was Joe’s town. He liked the fast life and the fact he
could afford to live it. He enjoyed the finer things in life that
were so readily available there. There was a time when he enjoyed
the women of New York and their fast style where he grew his
sexual confidence that flowed from his personality. Although he
loved to be flirted with, and to flirt back, there was no
question where his heart laid. Selena was the true love of his
life and no one could ever step into that path to block him. Even
women that thought they had his heart and could win him forever,
timidly backed away and either went off smitten or became a
trusted friend and confidant. Selena has accepted all of his
female friends because she knew she could trust him after
doubting him so often.

After a morning hug and kiss in bed they had said little to each
other as she went about the business of getting ready and Joe
packed the car. When they finally met in the kitchen for coffee
their looks to each other were smirky and smoldering remembering
the night before. What had began as tender oral lovemaking, ended
a bit kinky and rough. Had they been writing a book about their
lovemaking, last night would have been a whole chapter. It would
have been called Naughty Satisfaction and Appreciation.

Selena felt no shame for how much she appreciated and craved
sexual contact with her husband. Joe had no misgivings either and
worried if he might be able to keep up with her as years passed.
He recalled the marathon bouts in their Jamaican visit when they
first wantonly opened up their wild sexuality. He had told her
then that days and nights like that, 5 orgasms for him and
countless for her in a 18-24 hour period, only happen a few times
in your life and you live off of them forever. He remembered at
least 4 or 5 of those bouts already and knew they were in store
for quite a few more. As sexual as she was, you couldn’t help but
wonder if those who saw her in public thought of her as a
kindergarten teacher or bank teller. Her look was so sweet,
always dressing tastefully, while still hinting at the perfect
body her clothes hid. The topper, of course, was her intelligence
and gentle heart that fulfilled the package for him. He called
himself lucky for not being able to remember the nine years they
were apart.

As they zoomed south on the New York Thruway to The City they
spoke little, except for glances back and forth that smoldered
sex and passion. Certainly they both replayed the evening in
their minds and not until they had to make a comfort stop did
they begin to speak. Once back in the car they spoke of how they
planned the day and what they might do in the evening.

“I know we have to placate some friends and go through the hugs
and tears routine, not that I won’t be happy to see them, but I
just want to go back to normal.” Selena said.

“It sounds silly, but we don’t understand how astonishing we are.
You are going to have a very trying day with everyone at work. I
suspect you’ll be pretty well emotionally drained by tonight; I
was going to suggest Joe and Shanna come over to our suite. I
still feel like my job is to protect you somewhat from getting
too stressed out and I’m seeing too much emotion for one day.”
Joe said reaching out for her hand.

“That would be nice, and have dinner sent up?” She said,
brightening at the prospect.

Before Joe could answer her, Selena’s cell phone lit up and the
Blue Tooth App in the dash lit, displaying Wall Street Global
Group as the caller. She opened the speakerphone.

“Good Morning Selena, this is Ross. I suspect you are on your way
in and I have to warn you of a situation. There are about 5
camera crews waiting for you to arrive outside. We’ve called the
Police to be sure that traffic can still move on the street, but
I wanted to warn you.”

“Oh God! Someone must have tipped them, but I won’t let them stop
me. We should be there within 40-45 minutes. I don’t know what
they think they’re going to see and I have no intention of
speaking with anyone. I’m so sorry for causing this fuss.” She
said as she looked to Joe.

“You needn’t apologize for anything my dear. Maybe we’ll release
a statement later that will satisfy them. As long as you’re sure
you want to run this gauntlet, we will support you to the
fullest.” He assured her.

“After all I’ve been through, I can handle this. See you soon.”
She told him in a determined tone.

Although Joe could pay only 75% attention to the conversation he
was quite aware of what was going on. Her closing comment to Ross
told him that she WAS ready for all of this and her steeled
determination of any task at hand was not softened or tarnished
by the nine year ordeal.

“I guess this means most definitely, that if Shanna and Joe can’t
make it to our suite, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to meet
them. I don’t want to put you through having reporters follow us
around.” Joe said as he put his hand on her knee and squeezed.

“How long will this go on? I don’t want to be a celebrity, at
least not for this. When I was going to be a news reader I sort
of liked the idea that I might be recognized, you know like I was
for doing WSG statements. I knew most of the people who
recognized me were investor types, not sensationalists.” Selena
said with a sigh.

“Hmmm, I wonder if we agreed to do ONE, and just one, face to
face interview for TV or newspaper, if they would all go away.”
Joe wondered aloud.

“I doubt it because we have to involve the hospital too much and
if they go asking questions, . . .  the rape and our baby may
come up. We have to protect our child even if we don’t know her.”
Selena said stifling a tear.

Thoughts of her missed motherhood kept Selena quiet and pensive
for the rest of the trip. Once they got into Manhattan proper she
began to gather her things and had her purse and brief in her
hand. As Joe turned the corner and saw the police cars and the
small mob of press he reached over for her hand.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” He asked.

She looked at him with a face of determination he knew all too
well, she was in The Zone.

“Ready! I was going to walk back to the hotel, but send a car;
they’ll look for this one. I’ll call you.” She said as she leaned
over and kissed him as he stopped.

She slipped out the door and walked like a statesman into the
office while flashes went off and people threw questions out with
microphones waving in the air. She got to the top of the stairs
and the door opened. She took one step in and turned to face the
media.

“I’d like to thank you in the future for our privacy. I do not
now, nor will I ever have any comment concerning 911. Please let
us carry on as normal.” She bellowed, in a huge booming voice few
have heard, before she let the door shut behind her.

Joe smiled and looked up to see a NYC policeman blocking a man
with a recorder in his hand from stepping into the street. Joe
nodded approval to him and pulled away.

Turnover at the grandiose Four Seasons edifice in Manhattan was
great enough over the nine years he was away that he was able to
leave his car to park and go through the lobby and check in
without having been recognized. Only when he got to his room did
the phone begin to ring as word got out he was back. The head of
Room Staff, Maitre D’, and head Bellman all called to wish him
well. All were people who were familiar to him in other positions
who had moved up the ladder. Then a knock came to the door that
he figured was his luggage, but instead his dear friend Joseph
stood, tears streaming down his face as he stepped in and hugged
his old friend.

“My friend the miracle. Wishes do come true.” He said as they
both stood and cried.

After a few moments to calm himself Joseph stood back, “Shanna
says asking you over for dinner is an imposition on you both
after such a day. She wants to have dinner sent in here, just the
4 of us.  We can sit and catch up. When we go I’ll take your car
and put in my alley garage. I haven’t rented it for a car since
you left before. As long as this car is no more than 18 inches
longer than the Roadster, you’re in. I’ve only rented it for
storage to a bottle and can collector, and he left 2 months ago.”

“THAT would be awesome, Selena suggested on the way that she
didn’t want to ferry out tonight. She knew it would be a trying
day.”

“Alright my dear friend, expect us around 7. No need to dress,
just lounge clothes. We’ll take care of dinner and everything,
non-negotiable.” Joseph said putting palm over palm and spreading
them in a clearing motion.

“Uh . . . OK! I won’t argue. Selena will enjoy this, she’s so
looking forward to seeing you both.”

“I’ve got to get back to the podium, I’m sure people are waiting,
I’ve only got 3 on and there’s a couple large groups here.”
Joseph said shaking Joe’s hand again and quickly leaving.

Joe worried how Selena was doing, but he needn’t. From the moment
she walked in the door at Wall Street Global Group she was
showered with well-wishes and hugs from everyone.

When Deneigh got up from her desk and hugged her she kissed
Selena’s cheek saying “I never realized how much I had grown to
depend on your thoughts, opinions, and guidance. You’ve been my
inspiration on getting to my goal here.”

With teary eyes she took Deneigh’s shoulders in hand and held her
so she could look at her eye to eye. “I know you are so close,
we’ll get you that seat. I’m here for you.”

When Selena turned J. Trace Fountain stood waiting with welled
eyes and open arms.

“What hath God wrought?” He said emotionally, repeating Samuel
Morse’ words tapped into the first electronic media communication
device.

“While I never wanted to believe you were lost that day, I had
faced the fact I would never see you, and here you are. You’ve
bolstered my faith in God. If we hadn’t realized it when you were
here, after we got together after the attacks we realized how
much we missed having a younger perspective, especially from
someone as sensible and astute as you.”

Selena blushed amongst her tears at his words, and as she met
with each of the other partners the same words and sentiments
were passed along. She never felt so welcome, so much a part of
anything this special in all of her life. After a coffee and
catching up session in the Great Room Ross Curran called an end
to their “break” and took Selena into his office for a private
meeting. He couldn’t wait to share his thoughts with her.

“Just being here today you have breathed new life into all of us.
I hope that doesn’t sound silly, but your young perspective, your
glow, and your fresh thoughts will revitalize all of us. I know I
spoke to you before about trying to push Deneigh over the hump in
her quest to become a partner. If can just teach her how to focus
she will be there. I think her many years on the phones and at
the door have caused her to multi-task away from the task at hand
too much. She has her way of doing things and when she is out
here on the floor, her mind is still out there in reception.
Everything that goes on outside of the offices and the Great Room
is set up by her and done her way. When she came in she was a
task master at making things work for her and she did an
incredible job. She was the innovator of everything we do and how
we do it, outside of the financial realm. Her marks and professor
recommendations have reached a great level where she should be
able to work into our system, but she always side-tracks trying
to make everything else work as she would have it. We’ve hired
people to take her spot, but they just don’t get the system. Our
other partner, Ms Jamaica Brown, has not cut the muster as we
expected. She is having a tough time and I’ve worried if we just
expected her to be you. She is very smart, but her intuitiveness
totally lacks confidence, hard time making decisions and calling
them final. She seems distracted by the lifestyle she is
choosing, you know New York can be very tempting if you let it
in. Small tastes are fine, but to swallow it whole takes money,
new morals and self control. I doubt she has any of the 3. She’s
been through 2 partners votes and was 0-5 each time. So much
potential but no one wants to commit to her, we may have to cut
ties and bite that bullet. A third 0-5 vote would void her
contract anyway and at the first of the year we can take that
vote .”

“She’s under contract for the same 5 years as I had, correct?”
She wondered.

“That was the standard drawn up by the partners for collegian
incentives, but we would have offered you 10 more at the end of
2, had you been here. But if she can’t become partner in 2 years,
she never will.” Ross added.

“If she is under contract, why not move her to Deneigh’s job?
Have Deneigh train her and then move Deneigh out of that job
totally. Have Deneigh sit in with the partners like both Slim and
I did until she’s ready for an office.” Selena suggested.

Ross scribbled quickly on his yellow pad and nodded to her. “I
think I’ll bring that up to the partners privately.”

Ross Curran sat back in his chair and habitually looked up at the
big board and quickly noted something he gleaned from the stock
action before putting his hands together as one might devoutly
pray and then rested his chin on the tips of his middle fingers,
looking directly at Selena.

“So what of you? You would be, . . SO welcome back here. I know
you’ve literally been through hell and are way past the 5 year
schedule you and your husband had put on “retirement”. Have those
plans changed? Do your creative juices still flow, or is the fire
out?”

“Today is my first day of trying to figure that out, Ross. Just
being here assures me that I still have the bug and really want
to come back. However, my husband is 52 and I want to enjoy all
the time I can with him. We’re going to go to Jamaica again and
think this out. That was where we really got free of the world
and put everything in perspective. We have three homes we’ve
never physically seen and want to get to know, so I would like a
couple months to give you a decision. I can tell you that I’m
leaning heavily on returning to finish 5 years in house. I know
you’ve released me from that commitment, but doing that would
make me feel fulfilled, I think. My Joe will go with whatever I
want, almost to a fault. So I really have to see how he “really”
feels about it.”

“We support any decision you make.” Ross assured her.

“So where is this Ms. Browne we have spoken of?” Selena asked.

“She has a meeting with her landlord this morning in an effort to
keep her apartment. Her shelter stipend ended last month and she
is having a hard time making the rent. She makes enough money to
live in the suburbs, not Manhattan. But, she likes the New York
night life a bit too much.”

“Could the fact she is not centered be her entire problem?”

“I hate to say this, but, we have made a mistake with her. We
have all, Deneigh included, taken her under our wing at one time
or another to show her what she can become, what she can make for
herself, what a gift she has. It pains me to come to the
conclusion that she feels like getting here was the end of her
journey and she could, like I hear my grand-daughter say, skate.”
Ross said disgusted with the whole situation.

“Remember when you would sit with each of us and then take the
reins yourself in your own office eventually?” He asked as she
nodded. “Well she never even seemed to want to pick up the
string. She sits in there and comes out for our meetings and nods
agreement with most everything, never offering anything
substantial.


“Where is she from and what can she do if you drop her and relief
her from her contract?”

“She’s from Washington State and appears to live paycheck to
paycheck. She really has no savings or any finances to fall back
on. She would buy her seat here on her percentages, but as the
0-5 votes show, no one wants to commit. I’m sure she translates
her salary to Washington State standards, but 75K in New York is
just NOT a lot of money if live in the city. We were paying her
$2000 a month for living stipend and she settled into a $2400 a
month place. Now, that’s more than half her take home each month.
She went to Reed Institute in Oregon, a stuffy no-nonsense campus
that turns out PhD’s like McDonalds does hamburgers. Her
professors called her all of the right things with an emphasis on
being a very disciplined student. I don’t know much about
recreational drugs, but if they can change a person’s outlook,
that may be an answer. But she doesn’t show any signs of that
here, it’s just a thought I have.”

“Does she realize that you are thinking of terminating her, that
she may lose her job?”

“She has been warned, . . and I see by her light, she is in.” as
Ross checked the  In/Out board. “Yes, she’s been warned but seems
to think her contract protects her.”

Selena stood and said “Please introduce me and leave me with her
a few minutes. OK?”

“Maybe you can reach her, or even offer her the Deneigh
switchover option we talked about. Unless something happens
positively with her, we plan to terminate her at the start of the
New Year after the third vote.” Ross said.

Selena was surprised when Ross opened the door to Jamaica Brown’s
office. She expected a dowdy type, an overwhelmed country girl.
Jamaica was 4 foot 9 inches and maybe 90 pounds, with reddish
hair, and a cute well proportioned figure. She looked every bit
the professional they thought they were getting, but she
obviously had wild oats to sow and New York was just the place to
help her along. She dressed quite fashionable accenting her bust
line, flared hips, and round full bottom. She may have been just
over the “office” line for dress code.

Ross introduced her and told Jamaica that Selena would spend a
lot of time with her over the next few days. They exchanged small
talk for a few moments, comparing education and schools, then
Ross excused both he and Selena, telling Ms Brown to “carry on”.

Ross stood outside Ms. Brown’s office for a moment looking to
Selena for a reaction and then motioned her to the far end of the
Great Room.

“First impression?” He asked.

“She seemed nice, professional, but her dress is a bit too, . . .
umm, . . “sexy” would be the word. Is that how she always
dresses?” Selena wondered as she tried to shake off her first
impression of poor attitude.

“For the most part. She’s very stylish, but I think a bit too . .
“sexy” as well. There is a difference between attractive and
provocative. So let me tell you my thoughts; you work with her,
feel her out, and see if she is really serious. If she thinks she
needs the break we can swap her out with Deneigh and see if
Deneigh really can handle it. Ms. Brown may think her 5 year
contract is unbreakable, but if she can’t get one partner to vote
her a share after 3 votes, her contract voids. Of course, she can
also be just let go for performance failure, but she would still
have to live by the exclusivity clause in her contract. We can’t
wait much longer, none of us are getting any younger, and that’s
why we need you back here so desperately. I had hoped not to use
that tact with you, but John and Trace want to cut their hours,
well “days” to be precise. They would like 3 or 4 days a week.
With Slim, myself, Deneigh, or Ms. Brown, and you, plus one of
them we still have 5. I had hoped we could show 6 or 7 by now and
we are failing our customers. None of us seem to know how to
approach her about this.” Ross said in a bit of desperation.

Selena looked at him and took his hand in hers saying, “I guess
I’ve  known  it all along, I WILL come back for at least enough
time for us to get where you’re comfortable with the
presentation. I will need about a month before I come back, but
I’m here for the next few days. With your permission I will lay
it on the line to Jamaica and let her know that the third vote
can take place at the first of the year and she will be done.
But, if she’s not doing the job and shows no effort to improve,
we can just can her today without wasting any more time or money.
Plus, I hope she’s aware that she can’t work in the financial
industry until her 5 years is up. I might be the right person for
this job because when I look at her I see the girls who used to
try and pick up my husband, the little gold diggers! If she
doesn’t want to work for the goals she was schooled for I will
submit to you that we do fire her. If she thinks the contract
protects her she is wrong. Joe had his legal guy go over it when
I started and we hold ALL the cards. She works at your behest,
basically. Right now my blood is boiling, so I’ll wait a few
minutes before I go back in to see her.”  Selena said with
uncharacteristic anger.

She closed the door with a swift pull before pushing it back
open. “Ross, am I still listed as a co-signer if we have to
prepare a check for her?”

“Umm, YES, as soon as we knew you were, . . um back, . . . we
uhh, had to. You ARE a partner. Before you go that far, be sure,
but I’ll go with anything you decide.”

She was mad because these men of Wall Street Global who had taken
her in and shown her so much confidence were now being taken
advantage of by what she considered a lazy tart. She immediately
knew why Slim hadn’t stepped in; he feared being taken in by her.
How could he be so weak? She thought to herself.

Suddenly, she felt as if SHE were the head of this prestigious
group. They knew not how to handle this situation and were afraid
to face it head on. Selena had fought through more than this in
her 9 years of mental exile, she could handle this. She excused
herself from Ross and went to Slim’s office and knocked before
letting herself in.

“Slim, how could you not step in and straighten this Brown girl
out. You know she’s fucking off and you’ve let it happen. I
thought a lot more of you than this, what are you afraid of?” She
said shooting right from the hip, catching him off guard.

Slim’s first reaction was to defend himself strongly, but before
he could utter a word in strong protest he saw the resolve in
Selena’s face and fell back in his chair.

“For the first time in my life I’ve got a great relationship and
marriage with Shelly. I’m a bad boy turned good and Jamaica
threatens that. She’s a tease and tries to subjugate you by a
stealth sexual promise to use for leverage later. If it’s her
word against mine, my past screws me. I will not sit alone with
her in any office.” He said sadly.

Selena exhaled deeply and let her steeled demeanor drop out of
her planned tact with Slim.

“If you want to admit that you’re that weak with an aggressive
young woman for the sake of your relationship I’m not going to
badger you anymore. I’m just going to take care of this myself.
I’m gone from here 9 goddam years, my memory nearly fucking
erased, and come back to find you’ve let some nipple showing,
tight pants, tart, that we’ve educated, no less, do as she
pleases without contributing anything. I still have a seat on
this team and will not let it continue another day.”

Selena stormed out and went to Deneigh’s desk and asked for a
company check. She signed it and asked her to prepare it as
Jamaica Browns final check, paying her for the rest of the month.

“Deneigh, this is confidential, and NO ONE is to hear of it
unless I call you and release that check. Then Ross, er, Mr.
Curran will countersign sign it. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” She said
forcefully as Deneigh nodded. If you don’t hear from me by
closing, tear up the check and it’s the last we’ve spoke of it.

Deneigh flashed an OK sign and zipped her lip

Deneigh had only seen Selena so forceful, but for a very few
occasions. But she was downright loaded for bear and Deneigh was
convinced she meant every word and shouldn’t ask any more
questions and just do as she was told. One of the hard and fast
rules of her position was tight lipped confidentiality; she held
that close to her vest, as always.

With that Selena turned on her heel and went out the door,
uncharacteristically slamming it. She took 3 steps towards
Jamaica Brown’s office door and stopped to inventory herself.
“Am I really doing this?” She thought to herself. “Was I just
here a 2 hours ago kissing and hugging my ex-work team who
welcomed me back from the brink of death, only to have to go and
ostensibly rip-out or cure a cancer among the team because
political correctness has neutered
everyone?.......................YES, I will do this, I have
nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

She went past the table in the great hall to the office simply
labeled “Brown”. She knocked and let herself in without waiting
to be invited.

“Oh good! So you’re going to work with me?” Jamaica said as she
half stood to greet her.

Selena went to the desk and picked up the 2 remotes and switched
off both monitors and reached under her computer to turn off the
screen on that as well. The room sat eerily silent for a moment
before Selena spoke.

“Get a yellow pad; there are a few notes you’ll have to take.”
Selena said as she looked for Jamaica to as she asked.

Seeing a one second hesitation, Selena slammed her open hand on
the desk and said firmly, “NOW!”

Ms. Brown opened her drawer and took out the pad Selena requested
and picked up a pen and looked down ready to scribble down
whatever she asked.

“Look at ME! I want you to see me say these things before you
write them down! First, I want you to be aware that you are on
the brink of losing your job here. Besides, you need only one
more zero vote and you’re done anyway. Don’t think there is
anything you can do to change that except work hard. I’m not
going to accuse you of trying to ply any partner with a favor for
a vote, but be assured it won’t happen. If we fire you from your
job, you will not be released from your contract and your
contract says that you cannot work in the financial industry
until the end of your five year commitment, or pay back our
investment in your education. Be aware that you are not here in
New York to party, but to work. A smart woman would live
frugally, as cheaply as possible until you became vested. You
would arrive at work each day fresh and on time.

When you arrive you’re expected to dress professionally, but
fashionably. Wear real bras, not sleeping or jogging bras. No one
is interested in your nipples, nor your cleavage, stay buttoned.
Pant suits are fine, but a woman wears a dress or a skirt with a
smart top. Nothing clingy to show the crack of your butt. You’re
not going to get the respect of the rest of the group any other
way. You may now write down the salient points from my first
tirade.”

“Where does all this vitriol come from?” She asked defensively.

“It comes from the fact that I am a partner in this company and
you have, so far, stolen from me and all the other partners. You
have nearly wasted an education from Reed, probably one of the
hardest schools in the country to get in. We PAID for that
education and you proved through your marks and reports from
counselors and professors that you were worthy. Now you’ve gotten
to New York and think your work is over. NO! It’s just begun! You
have to work your ass off to make it here and so far you are
failing, all because you are lazy. L –A – Z – Y ! Party time does
not start until you’ve established yourself. I’m sorry if my
prejudgment is wrong, but I think you’re more worried about your
own pleasures than you are your job, this organization and what
we do. If you misunderstood anything while we were paying for
your education and you signed commitments, you should have read
the contracts.” She continued to rail.

“You weren’t even here when I was recruited!” Jamaica Brown said
as if to defend herself.

“My money was, my partnership was here, and those people who
created this think tank and built the list of subscribers were
here. I am one of them!! . . . and you could be as well, but you
better get off your lazy little ass and get to work!” Selena
fired back.

“I find your tone to . . . . .” Jamaica started to say before
Selena shot back.

“If you want politically correct you’re dealing with the wrong
person. I’m pissed off and you’re going to know about it. I’m
telling you all of the things that have been said about you
behind closed doors, not wanting to hurt your feelings. I don’t
care about your feelings. I care about this operation flourishing
into the rest of the 21st century and you have the talent to help
drive it. These men aren’t going to live forever and they have a
legacy to protect, but before me they never had to deal with a
woman and they still pussyfoot around a bit. I don’t. You can
shake your boobs, show your cleavage, accent your nipples, wear
thongs, and make your ass stick out all you want for me, I don’t
care, and I don’t think that’s appropriate for this type of
business or ANY professional office. Dress and act accordingly,
work hard, and you will find yourself progressing into a career
where you can make a lot of money, get public and social
recognition as a leader in the field. OR, you peddle yourself as
whatever you’ve tried so far. It ends today and you can decide
from what side of the door where that end begins and something
new starts. Now, I’m almost hoarse and I want you to sit and
write the salient points of all you’re heard from me. Read them
back to me and if you agree to join our group as a contributing
member, come back here tomorrow and begin,  . . . or stay on the
other side of the door. The choice is yours.” Selena said as she
forcefully put her pointed finger to the yellow pad and sat to
watch her write or walk out the door.

“Are you threatening my job right now?” Jamaica asked.

“Your final check is cut and dated today waiting for a signature.
If that’s a threat, . . YES!”

Chapter 16

The refreshing waters from the shower washed over Selena as she
stood in the roomy stall and thanked God that the day was over.
Her afternoon in Jamaica Browne’s office had tried and tested her
resolve to complete her commitment to Wall Street Global Group
and to be sure that when she left she would be of clear
conscience that she did her best to make sure it was a better
place for her being there.

“Damn her, damn her!!” She thought as she wondered what would
have happened if she hadn’t challenged her as she did this day.
What made her day was the fact that she thought she may have
ignited Jamaica’s fire again. Throughout the afternoon Ms. Browne

broke down and cried 3 times confessing her personal sins of
indulgence where she put her personal life ahead of and at the
expense of her job. When confronted with her tardiness she
admitted to being hung-over, or waking up in a strange bed and
having to go to her own place to change.

Life in the big city suited her appetite for the fast life as it
had consumed many young girls. She knew it was putting her on a
path of a careening runaway wagon down Nob Hill and she didn’t
know how to stop.

Selena comforted her and told her how hard it was to live in
Manhattan and maintain a laid back lifestyle. She needed to get
out of the city at the end of each day. She was 2 months into a
new lease that she herself had to pay and was short already, now
that her stipend had expired. A pulled string had gotten her the
apartment through WSGG and a pulled string would get her out of
the lease that she was sure had a waiting list, being Manhattan.

She hadn’t enjoyed being such a hard-ass, so when she was able to
comfort her she felt better. Then, she made a call to Joe to see
if he could find her something where she could train or subway in
from the suburbs. He may have been 9 years removed, but he still
had connections.  By the end of the afternoon he had her in a
quiet newly furnished little place on Purchase Street in Rye, NY.
It would be an hour or less train to the office, giving her time
to look at the Wall Street Journal or newspaper. She need only
visit it to finalize her deal. Selena explained about “structure”
in her life, if she was going to make it in the world of
investing and leading investors.

Where at first she seemed ready to fight with Selena about her
work ethic and position, she left a determined young woman
yearning to get her life on track. It was easy for an
impressionable, naïve, good-looking, young lady to be taken in by
the seemed glamour of easy gratification from money, booze, sex,
and recreational drugs. The verbal slap in the face from Selena
was just what she needed. She only hoped the “sting” would last
long enough to let her see where the changes would make her a
better person.

Joe had been napping in front of the TV when she got back to
their Four Seasons suite and rather than disturb him, she snuck
off to the shower. Now, in only a silk robe and a towel wrapped
around her hair, she went to the leather recliner and squat down
to kiss him of the cheek.

Joe startled and took a moment to get his bearings as to where he
was, but then looked up for the fresh soapy smell he had inhaled.

“Oh, you’re back! God, I must have been out like a rock not to
have heard you. I’m glad we set up the car for you.” He mumbled
as he stretched and got to his feet.

Selena went into his arms and held him tightly, nuzzling his neck
before arching her head back to face him eye to eye.

“They’ve got me. I have to finish up there. I’m sorry if that
disappoints you, but we have too much investment there to not be
involved first hand. Had I not stepped in today they were willing
to let her flail until the January partners vote and then dismiss
her, eating what would amount to 600K and an empty partners
chair. John Branniff and Trace both want to cut their days down
and if they can’t, they may retire completely. As it is, “The
Six” may end up me, Slim, Ross, Deneigh, Jamaica, and an amalgam
of John and Trace.
Deneigh’s ass is the next I’m going to kick. I think she has to
be given an ultimatum of being ready to step into a partners
chair or leave. Her “mother hen” tendencies won’t allow her let
go of the power she can wield from her desk where she has
developed the procedures and systems that run everything.” Selena
babbled on as if to defend her snap decision to go back and stay.

She paused for his reaction to her words, but before she reacted
she remembered another point she had to ask him about.

“And HOW did you find her an apartment so fast? That was perfect
and you called back in 10 minutes!”

“I was on the phone with Tucker Mullan, the realtor who bought
out Gordon Phelan’s accounts and properties at the time and he
was just listing it for the owner. It’s a 4 unit house and the
landlord lives next door. He prefers city commuters with no kids.
He has a hard time interviewing tenants because he sort of
discriminates like that. That said, our apartment building went
condo and their all sold, except two. As you know, Fox has
studios across the street and they keep these two available for
talent that comes to town. We talked with the production manager,
Alexis Konsantakis, who knows you, and she will sublet to us for
a year and see how it works out. She also says that you should
come over and audition again when you’re ready. They currently
are trying a bunch of people to do the Business Wrap on a regular
basis.”

“Alexis and I were lunch buddies, but I only did the 5 minute
show once or twice for her. Is that the only way we get the
condo?” Selena wondered.

“No, no. We had the deal struck before we even discussed you. She
really liked you, also mentioning the “lunch buddies” thing. You
don’t have to audition for us to get the place.
Now, turn off the work talk and let’s discuss how good you feel
in my arms. Mmmmm, the fresh smell and the way you feel in this
silk robe, I’ve got a few mergers in my mind to talk about.” Joe
said as he let his hands slip down her back to hold the two balls
of her ass in his hands.’

Suddenly her demeanor changed and business talk stopped. She
nuzzled her head into Joe’s chest and hummed a loud approval to
her bottom being fondled.

“You were so confident I would stay at Wall Street Global you
went ahead and looked for a place to live?” She asked as she
pressed her middle to his.

“Selena Hanson Johnson, you seem to forget that I know every
little thing about you from the specks of gray hair you dye,
right down to the wrinkles in your cute little butthole, and you
were easy to read on this one.” Joe said laughing as he pulled
her tight to him.

Her knee went up gently against his balls as she talked from the
side of her mouth.

“Mention the gray hair again and I’ll be fondling the family
jewels with my kneecaps.” She said playfully.

“I can respect that.” Joe said with a giggle as they both
tightened their hug.

“Umm, you still smell fresh, when did you get out of the shower?”
She whispered as she inhaled into his chest hairs.

“I worked out downstairs from 3 to 4 and showered after. I must
have fallen asleep right after that until you came home.”

She ran her hands down his back and over the light cotton sweat
shorts he had on and then propped her chin up to his face.

“Joseph! You aren’t even wearing underwear! You didn’t have
naughty thoughts about this afternoon did you?”

He didn’t answer but ran his hands over the silk robe and again
held the balls of her ass tightly, pulling her to him.

“Mmmm, I love the way you fondle my hiney.” She purred.

“I love everything about your hiney.” He whispered as she felt
his cock rise between them.

“Just think, if you take me to Jamaica you can fuck me there,
make love to me there, all you want.” She said in a whispered
growl.

“Were you afraid I forgot about that, because I took care of that
too. Earliest we can leave is next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day,
out of Kennedy.  Your parents will be signing for our passports
tomorrow, the flights are booked, and they have our cottage at
Chiascuro Resort, the same one we had our first time there. The
cottages are all newly refurbished and refurnished as well. I got
a call from the State Department this morning saying Senator
Jackson had arranged everything; they even got passport pictures
from our press conference.”

“Hmmm, my parents and Thanksgiving. Leaving will not go over
well.” Selena said with a worry in her voice.

“Took care of that too! We’ll have Thanksgiving at your Moms on
Monday and then have another early Thanksgiving dinner with Joe
and Shanna before we go to the airport on Thursday. I should have
been a travel agent, huh? Do you think you can drag yourself away
from work for that?” He asked.

Her answer was to step back and reach into his little shorts and
wrap her hand around his cock. She gave it a few squeezes and
pushed his shorts down turning around and bending over. She
reached back and pulled his stiff cock down and let it pop up
between the cheeks of her ass, through the silk robe. She pumped
her hips a few times to let it slide between the groove before it
popped out, being so stiff. She turned back to him with a sexy
grin.

“Hmmm, I guess that means I win over work, huh?” He asked cutely.

“You’re so perceptive, even with all of your blood out of your
brain and gone someplace else.” Selena mused as she knelt down
and pulled his cock to her lips to kiss lightly before putting
her mouth over the head to soothe the hurting want it displayed.

She ministered to him for just a few moments pulling her mouth
off, causing him to react to the sudden wet coolness as she
asked, “Where do you want to make love to me, my pussy is
dripping. I need you right now.” She said as she stood.

Joe stood and pointed to the wing chair he had sat and fallen
asleep in and she quickly knelt in it, thrusting her ass out. Joe
slid up the silk robe over her bottom, swooning at the sight of
its loveliness.

The pink and coral of her womanhood glistened as she waited for
him to sheath her, holding her breath, preparing for the
intrusion.

“Ooooooof! I swear you’re bigger when we do less foreplay, you
fill me so” She exclaimed hunching up and pressing her head into
the seat of the chair. “Not that I’m complaining.” She added,
panting.

Joe felt the extra tightness as well and he began to thrust into
her holding her hips tightly while looking down at the spread
between her ass globes, her pinkness swallowing his cock while
her hiney hole opened and shut with each push and pull.

Selena began to shudder and quake quickly. The position and the
chair created an angle new to their lovemaking, if it was
possible. She wanted to cheer Joe on but her words came out as
squeaks and squeals as her breath shortened and a violent orgasm
ripped through her. Her silk robe slid from where Joe had pulled
it up over her bottom and down over her head as he saw her
knuckles turn white in her grip of the side of the chair.

Suddenly she bellowed a guttural sound as she drew a hard breath
to refill her lungs and then press her ass tighter to Joe’s
thrusts. She was enjoying the pounding Joe was giving her and
when Joe saw her fingers slither from their grip on the chair to
go under her he knew she was squeezing her tits and nipples as
she rode the pleasure/pain edge. The loud hoot from her throat
and the rush of fluid he felt wash over his dick told him she had
a second huge orgasm. She raised her head and let the slippery
robe slide back off her head as she pulled and twisted away from
Joe, rolling into a sitting position in the chair facing the hard
shaft Joe had poked her to pleasure with. Her mouth fell over him
as she repositioned her butt in the chair and used both hands on
his ass to pull him closer.

She took him deep and then pulled off letting her hand stroke him
as she spoke.

“I wanted you longer but we have to be safe. Let me taste your
juice.” She said popping the head into her mouth and stroking the
shaft but only a few times before Joe’s knees nearly buckled and
without a sound he shot his cum into her sucking mouth. It came
up so fast it surprised her as her eyes widened and looked up to
him in a panic because she couldn’t swallow that fast. She
squeezed the shaft hard and pulled her mouth away for a split
second to swallow before resuming her suction not wanting to lose
a drop. She continued stroking him until she was sure he was
through cumming and he became over sensitive. He twisted and
spiraled to the floor resting his back between her legs as she
sat on the edge of the chair. She fell forward and hugged her
head to the side of his.

“We still got it!” was all she said as her hands rubbed up and
down him until they both started giggling like little kids joyous
over some feat. From the last time they made love in this room
over 9 years before until this moment had been compressed into
what seemed a single beat of life, their bodies seeming almost
the better for the wear and toll they actually paid. At that
moment they both realized the “coming back from the dead” aspect
of their whole ordeal. He gripped her stroking arms tightly and
hugged his face to hers all the harder. Life was back.

The persistent ring of the phone broke their reverie and sexual
spell and Joe jumped to his feet to get it. He knew it was
Joseph.

“Hey! You two get decent and we’ll be up in a few. Our dinner is
in a cab from Peter Lugers.” Joseph said as he announced he and
Shanna were in the house.

“Fantastic! We’ll be ready!” Was Joes only response.

“Holy crap, Essy. We zoned too long. Get dressed, they’ll be up
here in a sec.” Joe said as he rushed to find clothes to wear
getting up from the floor.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Selena called to him as she stood
and went to him as he turned to see what the matter was.

She took his face between her hands and put her lips to his and
kissed him.

“I love you SO much! Holding you the last few minutes, smelling
your scent, hearing you breathe, feeling your warmth, while your
taste was still in my mouth was one of the sweetest moments we’ve
had since we found each other again. It’s like it’s a part of the
last night we were here, newly married and excited.” She said
sincerely.

“Like a second later, I felt it too.” Joe said kissing her back
and squeezing the bottom he found so precious.

“I’ll throw on slacks and a Polo. You fix your hair and get
decent. They’ll be here in a minute.”

Joe busied himself finding his clothes from earlier in the day
when he was out as he heard Selena gargle and then turn on the
hair dryer. He rushed out to straighten up making sure there were
no tell-tale signs of the pleasures they just shared. He picked
his newspapers that were spread on the dining table and gave it a
quick spray down. He stood and surveyed the suite a last time
almost anticipating the chime at the door as he heard a bustle
outside.

He waited for a moment and then opened the door expecting to see
his guests but there was only a cart with two aluminum warmer
cages with “Peter Lugers” spray painted on the outside. Bellmen
had delivered the food via the express elevator and Joe and
Shanna would soon follow. As he closed the door to wait for them
he heard the hair dryers drone stop and he looked to the bedroom
to see Selena drop her silk robe off her shoulders to the floor.
Her nakedness was so tempting he was ready to go in and ravish
her again. She quickly picked a dress off the bed to shimmy over
her head. She smoothed it over her body, turning to check herself
in the mirror. Knowing she was naked under the dress would be a
tease for him all evening.

The door chime rang and Selena ran to meet Joe by the door, shoes
in hand. She dropped the shoes, slipped into them and took Joe’s
hand, pulling him towards the door to open it.
The door opened and there stood Joseph and Shanna, both with
tears running down their faces as Shanna jumped into Joe’s arms
and hugged him tightly without saying a word.
Joseph was much more composed as he hugged Selena and tried to
shake Joe’s hand for a second time that day. Shanna was crying so
hard as she hugged him and blubbered something almost
unintelligible about a miracle.

As Joseph hugged Selena he kissed her cheek and pulled away to
see his wife still hanging onto Joe as if she couldn’t believe he
were there.

“Shanna is very emotional and she had such a tough time when the
whole thing happened. We won’t ask you a lot of questions; we
taped and watched your press conference again before we came over
to keep the questions down.” Joseph said as Shanna gave up her
hold on Joe to have her husband comfort her.

“Are they checking hospitals and clinics for others who possibly
fell through the cracks?”
Shanna asked through the emotion she just seemed to harness.

“I just said we wouldn’t ask questions and . . . . . .” Joseph
started to say before Joe waved him off.

“That’s OK and a fair question. Yes, they are looking into anyone
admitted, especially as a John or Jane Doe after 9/11. No one
else has turned up.” Joe answered.

“Let’s wheel in the dinner, there is a ton of food. When they
knew it was for you they did the whole thing gratis. The whole
place knew you and your Dad. Victor said to say hello and to
please come by while you’re here in New York. He sent over 4 Big
Joe Johnson specials, saying we couldn’t go wrong.” Joseph said
as they wheeled the carts in.

“My Dad did some things for him and he took my Dad fishing a lot.
They were buddies and when I took Selena there he recognized me
from when I was a kid. He’s a very cool guy.” Joe said wiping a
sentimental tear while trying to keep his lip from quivering.

The conversation over dinner dealt with mostly catching up with
Joseph and Shanna’s family, their kids and the upstate cottage
they bought for getting away. Joseph had become quite elite in
his job with connections around the city, able to satisfy the
Four Season guests with most everything they wanted to see and
do. He had received diplomatic awards from The City and numerous
plaques and awards from the corporation that managed the
Manhattan location. Simply, he was “connected” and used his
connections as a conduit to their guest’s desires.

The evening ended like old times with both couples mellowed by
the wine and food, both stretched out on a sofa or love seat
cuddling with their spouses. As Shanna began to doze off Joseph
pulled out his phone and dialed the bell station and asked them
to have a courtesy van ready to bring them home, a short walk of
just a few blocks, but possibly dangerous at midnight. Both
couples seemed mellowed and “sexy” by an evening where love was
so prevalent. It seemed inevitable that they each would seek
intimacy with their partners when they got to be alone later. The
evening was an appreciation of love between friends and lovers
and how they connected and intertwined.

Just as soon as their guests left Joe and Selena sought each
other for a hug and walked arm in arm through the suite turning
off lights and putting things away that need attention. Without
words they strolled into the bedroom and stripped and slid under
the sheets. He sought her out moving on top of her and made slow
passionate love with mouths and bodies glued to each other. They
both knew a problem would arise as Joe neared climax, she still
hadn’t seen a Gynecologist to get a birth control patch.

“I’ll finish on your belly, and then get a towel for you.” Joe
said as his breathing began to build and he got up on his hands.

“No! Let me slide down and get it. I love tasting you and this
will be sweet cream we made with sexy love making.” Selena
whispered sexily as she began to slither under him as he pushed
himself up and slipped from her love pocket.

She took his cock in her hand and stroked it twice as she put her
mouth over the head and Joe groaned loudly as he gave her the
warm cream she wanted as her mouth drove him over the edge. When
he was done he fell back and sprawled, exhaling deeply while she
crawled up to lay across his chest.

“I love you, and I love our love. I can’t get enough of every
feeling, smell, and taste of you.” She said as she kissed his
chest and slipped off the bed to go and rinse her mouth.

She set the alarm as the clock in the parlor struck 12 and they
were asleep in moments.
Monday had been a day once dreaded, but now celebrated in their
dreams. Things were returning to normal.

Voices in the room woke Selena and after pushing the puzzle
pieces in her mind she realized where she was and that the
morning news was playing as her wake-up. She slipped off the
satin sheets and turned the alarm off looking back to see if Joe
had been disturbed. The light buzz of his deep sleep told her she
had not disturbed him. She slipped into the shower to begin
getting ready for her day. It would be 25 minutes before she
emerged in her underwear from the shower, her hair dried and
fixed, as she looked for an outfit for the day. As she looked
over the armoire she had filled with outfits she became aware
someone was watching. She turned to see a Cheshire cat smile on
Joe’s face as he watched her move about in her bra and panties.

“Don’t even think about starting anything you naughty boy.” She
said with a wicked smile.

“What the mind is thinking and what the body is willing are two
different things. I hope to sleep to noon. After the drive, the
day on the phone, the big meal, and making love a couple times,
I’m just beginning to recharge, but I need more sleep. If I
didn’t have to pee you could have marched a band through here and
I wouldn’t have moved.” Joe said as he slid from the bed and went
in the bath to relieve himself.

When he returned Selena was just adjusting a half-slip and
readying to step into a bright fall colored outfit to compliment
her pale yellow undies.

“Want some help with that?” He joked.

“You stay away Mister!” She said shaking a finger at him, even
though he had headed straight back to bed.

“So give me an idea for a schedule until we leave for Jamaica,
Mon.” He said in his best Caribbean dialect.

As she looked into the mirror on the back of the armoire door to
make adjustments to her collars and necklace she recited what
surely she had been plotting all morning.

“I’m going to spend the next three days totally with the other
Jamaica, Jamaica Browne, and use that time to get back into the
market and get her mind jump started. She needs to get mind on
commodities and futures instead of pot, cocaine, fast friends,
penis, alcohol, and good times.”

“Penis?” Joe said in wonderment.

“I think she’s been whoring around quite a bit, finding that the
fast boys in the fast clubs like her cute little body and
willingness to get experience. THAT’S why I wanted to get her out
of Manhattan. She’s having TOO good of a time.” She said as she
put in earrings and turned her head to get a look at them in the
mirror.

“Remember you once told me that our sexual hunger would fade and
need to make love at each chance would lessen and a new routine
would start? I think she’s still in that “gotta have it all of
the time” phase of her fast life. Everything is still new and
exciting because she has been with so many partners and
situations. Out of Manhattan she should find herself and get
centered. She’s way too smart and savvy to let this ruin her
career. However if she decides to not show up this morning and
pick up her check, such is life. She’ll surely regret it for a
long, long time.” Selena prattled on while primping herself.

While Selena didn’t really use make-up per se, she did like to
use mascara to lengthen her lashes and use a light pencil on the
water line under her eyes. She thought it made her look more
alert and credible. The rest of the colors and shading in her
face were natural.

Joe was watching her while he settled into the sheets and pillow
knowing he would easily fall asleep again soon. He smiled with
pride to himself that they loved each other so, and then had to
comment on something she had just said.

“Has our sexual hunger faded? It seems we’ve made love at every
turn in the last few days.” He said with a Cheshire grin.

She stopped what she was doing and turned to face him rather than
talk to his reflection.

“Do you know how hard it is not to come to you right now? I wore
a pad in case you woke up while I dressed. I’m so wet right now
that it’s driving me crazy. Without the pad I’d have to change my
panties before I left. It’s only taken these few weeks to get us
back to where we were as far as that goes. Dreaming about you for
9 years and then getting you back. . . .why, I never want to be
away from you! I hope your heart can handle my appetite for you
in Negril.” She said with a kidding sneer before breaking into a
sexy smile.

She turned and closed the armoire and went to the bed and bent
and kissed his cheek backing away quickly, knowing a hand would
try to touch her someplace sexual.

“Go to sleep, you naughty man and roll onto that stiffy you have
and let it pass. We can take care of that and my wet spot later.
I love you and will call you around lunch” She said as her heels
clicked on the floor between the bedroom and parlor carpets.

“We aren’t doing lunch, are we?” He hollered from the bed.

“No, I may have it sent in for Jamaica and I or meet with Alexis
if I can. You settle the trip and the condo deals, talk to my
parents. Bye, bye!” She called out as she left and the main door
clicked shut.

When she got off the elevator in the main lobby no less than 5
Four Seasons employees said “Good Morning Ms Johnson” as she
passed with her coat over her arm. She went into the area now
designed for “people on the go” to get a quick coffee, paper and
small repast to get the day going. She served herself a muffin
top and coffee while picking up a WSJ. She had 12 minutes until
her “car” would pick her up in front and bring her to work. She
wanted to walk it, but for only the second day she worried of
paparazzi and media types who might stalk her.

It turned out to be a wise choice as still some media milled
around the Wall Street Global Group entrance hoping to get some
photo or story. Selena smiled and walked by and into the door.

“Good morning Ms Johnson!” Deneigh exclaimed, more than happy to
see her.

“Good Morning Miss Myersen!” Selena said as she looked to the
board to see who was in or out.

“Oh, I see Miss Browne is in early today!” She reacted.

“Yes, and looking quite proper, I must say.” Deneigh responded,
adding, “Oh, I shredded the item you had me prepare yesterday.”

“Thank you and we’ll file that info in our vaults for good.”
Selena responded.

“Already done, and you can call me Deneigh out here.” She added
with a smile.

“No, you’re going to be partner and should get the respect each
of us gets inside these doors. Selling yourself short is no
confidence builder. Play the part, act the part, BE the part.
Believe in yourself Miss Myersen.” Selena told her as she went
through the big door into the Great Room.

Slim was sitting at the long table and he stood as soon as Selena
walked in.

“Good morning Ms. Johnson, I was hoping to have a word with you
before you settle in.” He said.

“Sure, Mr. Beupour. Right into my office now, okay?” She said as
she went into the one empty office where her old name slug “Miss
Hanson” was hastily put back in the identity slide.

“Selena, I don’t want my reluctance to sit in with Jamaica Browne
to affect our friendship, our relationship outside of this
building. I haven’t had an opportunity to talk to either of you.
You and Joe are so loved and respected by both me and. . . . . .”
Slim started before Selena cut him off.

“Slim STOP! I wanted you to be aware I was disappointed in you,
that you didn’t have enough concern for OUR COMPANY to step in! I
understand your feelings on the situation and you felt trapped,
but you should have tried another angle instead of doing nothing.
After talking with Ross yesterday and hearing the feelings of the
others he gave me full reign of her future and I was ready to
flat out fire her yesterday. I’m gone for 9 years and I come back
to find my investment is at risk because political correctness
and soft spined men couldn’t handle a situation. You were all
happy to wait her out until the third zero vote and piss away the
investment and the precious YEARS of getting her to this spot.
Business is business, and being polite is being polite, but when
someone has all of you bent over screwing you, risking your own
seats, WHERE IS THE SANITY!”

Slim cowered for a second before defending himself. “Selena,
you’re hardly in a position to take up where you left off and . .
. . . .”

But Selena sprung to her feet again to interrupt him.

“Slim you’re 100% right on that one count, my market know how and
skills are way behind, BUT DON’T INSULT ME BY DOUBTING MY
BUSINESS SENSE AS WELL AS NOT EVEN TRYING TO PROTECT MY SHARE
VALUE!”

Slim had no words or answer for her accusations and was searching
for something to say when Selena started in on him again.

“Her recruitment, her salary, her living stipend to get her on
her feet, her education and the 5 years we paid for one of the
most prestigious institutions in the country to groom her, PLUS
the time she made NO contributions to us is like lighting 2
million of OUR, the partners, dollars ON FIRE and then invest the
same, plus inflation to re-do it again to replace her…………………you
were all willing to piss it away. I’M NOT!! This is business,
Slim, and remember that Joe and I both love you and Shelley and
want to see you soon, but THIS IS BUSINESS and the old Jewish
merchants from the slums of New York had a saying that lives to
this day, DON’T SHIT WHERE YOU EAT. Now, you know how I feel and
I’ll say the same things to any other partner who comes in here
wanting to question the authority Ross gave me with her
yesterday. Now get out of my office so I can go see if my tirades
with her yesterday did any good.”

Slim jumped to his feet like a frightened dog to escape when
Selena stopped him.

“Slim, Joe and I really do love and miss you and want to see you
this week. Please don’t let this affect our personal
relationship. It was obvious someone had to step in. Step back
and look at it and you’ll agree. Kiss kiss.” She said waving a
kiss to him.

She jumped to her feet again and went to Jamaica Browne’s office,
knocked and went in without waiting to be asked in.

Miss Browne was behind her desk with legal pads before her and
the WSJ opened to the editorial page. Both monitor screens were
DVR frozen with quotes she was curious about.

“Good morning Ms. Johnson. I’ve got something interesting brewing
here and would like your opinion. Is it possible that one of the
internet culture sites, like Yahoo or Facebook, would wash funds
through Forex markets as if to invest in another country’s
internet, take a loss and then come back to shock investors by
buying one of their competitors without giving owners of either
stock a chance to buy or sell? I mean, it’s legal and all, but
unethical as hell. When they lose money on the money trade, the
small investor might get skittish and jump out only to try and
re-buy when the merge happens and the stock jumps. They usually
get shut out when all the nickel and dimers small folios get
consolidated by a sweeper, those guys who sit back and wait for
the petty short sells.” Miss Browne said without lifting her eyes
from the figures she was jotting.

“Show me how you got to where you are.” Selena said without
another word or checking to see how she was dressed.

“DormTalk has been really hot in the past month or so and lots of
new money is propping them up, big buyers with big shares.
They’re selling Euro’s and Dollars in the form of foreign loans
to new start-ups in Africa and Korea. Meantime, the buzzing new
social start-up IPO, CollegeDate is raising their prices to meet
DormTalk according to this article. CollegeDate has a slightly
sleazy rep, but has 8 million subscribers, with 10 to 20%
dropping off the service in the last 48 hours. Both stocks have
made silly moves up and down the chart, but worth isn’t changing
with new buyers girding up the skittish. The 2 are so much alike
and with the price point switch, I can’t but help think something
is wrong and big money is going to come from Forex sources with
one buying the other.”

“You followed the money?”

“Yes, definitely DormTalk opening like business ventures in those
countries and they seem to be buying cheaper CollegeDate stock.
It’s confusing.”

“Do we have any subscribers heavy into either?”

“Yes, one in particular, one of Mr. Fountains major folios.”

Selena picked up the phone and dialed J. Trace Fountains
extension.

“Yes, Miss Browne.” He answered.

“Trace, this is Selena. I’m sitting in with Jamaica for a few
days and she may have found something to interest you. Can you
come up for a moment? Her boards are set up to show, otherwise
we’d come to you.”

“Give me a moment and I’ll be there.”

As they waited Selena made firm eye contact with Jamaica who
dropped her eyes and seemed to swallow a ball of emotion.

“I took inventory last night and know I’ve been a screw-up. I
went online to a site called “Are you Dependant?”. They ask you 5
questions about yourself and I was 5 for 5 negatively. I’m a drug
and alcohol using whore who uses money to get her friends. I
don’t say that proudly and I want to scream when I think of what
I’ve done.” She said as a knock came to her door.

“Compose yourself, you don’t want to show emotion with him.”
Selena said as she opened the door for Trace.
Selena let Jamaica do the talking as she showed Mr. Fountain the
trail she had found. He nodded, fingered his jaw, and finally
smiled a little as she finished.

“That’s very good work, you two, I . . . .” He started before
Selena interrupted him.

“No, I just walked in, she was on her own.”

“Great! I’ve been following the same thing and wondered if I was
over-thinking the scenario. Now I think it’s worth a phone call
to the investor. I wouldn’t cause a false panic in the investment
world with it unless we see something illegal. This is unethical,
but unfortunately LEGAL. Very good work, Miss Browne. Now show me
how you got your deduction, what tripped your questions.” Mr.
Fountain asked to be sure they each followed the same route.

Jamaica turned back her yellow legal pad and backed her saved
screens to show the how, where, and why she was inquisitive of
the moves. She looked up to Trace and he smiled back to her.

“That was great work. Take this how you like, but, that was the
first time I’ve been able to say that to you and I’m surprised.
Let a journey begin here.” Mr. Fountain said as he winked to
Selena and quickly slipped out the door.

Selena looked to her and her face broke into tears as she hid
behind her hands.

“I’m all of the things my Mother warned me about coming here. I
blow my money on coke and booze and can’t put names on 3 of the
last 5 men I slept with.” She said before she broke down
altogether.

Selena locked her door and turned on her conference light so she
could cry in private. She let her go for a bit before she went
over and squat down beside her chair to comfort her.

“You aren’t the first to fall prey to the city and you won’t be
the last. Knowing and realizing what you’ve done is over half of
the recovery. Do you think you need help with the alcohol or
drugs?” Selena asked.

“No, I thought it over last night and called and talked to a
friend back home. Most of it was to get to the sex, feeling loved
away from home, even though I hated myself afterwards. The high
wasn’t the drugs or booze, the high was the sex. The other stuff
just dulled the pain and remorse later. Why do people DO these
things to themselves? I DID them and I have to ask. I’m such a
mess.” Jamaica said through her sobs.

“You don’t know how far ahead of it all you are by coming to
grips with it. I take it you weren’t that sexually active back
home?”

“Oh, nothing until a couple boyfriends in college, but nothing
that got serious. I was real innocent when I got there. More
curious than anything. But, I just got taken in here. I had
expendable cash, a Manhattan apartment, and suddenly I had
friends and lovers hanging on me. I’m not a whore, or a slut, not
a druggie or an alky. By getting out of town, I can catch up on
my reading, which I sorely miss. Curling up with a book, with my
cat close by is more “me” than sleeping around. I mean, I do want
to find love, but I wouldn’t find it in the crowd I was with.”
She said softly.

“My husband should call today with details about the apartment he
found and maybe we can go there in the next few days. Please keep
in mind that both Deneigh and I have leaned on each other’s
shoulder with problems females can talk over and would do the
same for you. Now we have to get cracking and back to work.”

Selena had just begun showing Jamaica the processes she used to
begin her day when the intercom rang. Jamaica took a short
message and hung up looking to Selena.

“Mr. Curran would like a short meeting with you in his office,
right away.”

Selena rolled her eyes and left Miss Browne on her own once again
and went right to Curran’s office.

“Yes, Mr. Curran, you wanted to see me?” Selena said as she
walked right into his office without knocking.
 Ross waited for the door to close completely before he said,
“Yes, Selena sit down.”
as he sat back in his chair and faced his hands together, as if
to pray, in front of him and rotated them back to rest his chin
on the tips of his middle fingers. It was a familiar position he
took when he was going to speak of great importance, Selena knew.


“When we recruited you and hired you to be one of our partners in
waiting we knew we were getting a logical, straight thinking,
young lady. We only hoped we could mold you into a leader. Then,
you were taken away from us before we ever had a chance to begin
a process by which we might see you in that light. To be certain,
your beauty and pleasant veneer made us old fogies think we might
have to search elsewhere for an eventual spokesperson or titular
head of this group. However, maybe that quality was hidden
before, or brought into light by the 9 years of hell you went
through, because what I’ve overheard in the past few days has me
ready to pass that mantle from me to you.” He said with a sly
smile and sort of wink.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what . . . .” Selena began to say
when Ross interrupted her.

“Selena, these walls are thin if one wanted to eavesdrop, as long
as the voices were raised that you wanted to listen to. I seek
solace from time to time in The Great Room in the recliners in
the alcove where the TV is located. I need time away from the
flickering screens and news blab in my office. Pardon the
expression, but I heard you rip new buttholes in two of our
“partners in waiting” with a passion that only I thought I
possessed amongst the group.”

“I’m sorry if I overstepped my . . . . . .” She began to say as
she flushed red when Ross held up his hand.

“Stop! It was called for on both accounts and perhaps you should
have said a derivative of the same speeches to each of us old
farts. Too many of us going along to get along and not making
waves. Thirty years ago that would have been me for as much as
wasting a sheet of copy paper. Not that I care any less now, but
certain things in life seem more important to exercise my
passions on. You have the fire burning hot within you to make
this group keep sailing as we have been. No one elected me to be
the so called “spokesperson”. I just took the responsibility
because others didn’t seem to want to. Now, I want you to take
the baton from me in that regard.”

“I don’t know if I can be that strong.” Selena said doubting her
abilities.

“My dear, do you think that either of those two will ever
challenge your authority after what you’ve given them in the last
24 hours?” He asked her.

Selena thought for a moment and a little grin slid across her
face. “No, I doubt they will.”

“Where you see need for that sort of impassioned response, feel
free to give it, no matter whom it’s aimed at. I’ll back you
100%.” He reassured her.

“Suppose it’s YOU it’s aimed at?” She asked seriously.

“There, you see? You’ve already done it. I will be at your beck
and call shall that ever arise.” He answered as he stood to
signal the end of the little meeting.

She shook his hand and went out of his office into The Great Room
wondering what just happened. She smiled as she realized she had
just, more or less, become the “go to” head of the group. All she
need do is exert the power when it became necessary. Being
outspoken was apparently the only requirement as others had done
through the years and then eventually ceded that “power” to
another member of the group. Not that any of them lacked the
passion for the job at hand, but someone had to lead at one point
or another while the others trusted that person to know the way.

Selena settled back into the office with Jamaica Browne and
little by little began to get into the groove of things while
relearning the current trends and stock movements. She worked
aloud and Jamaica began to catch on to her little tabs and
systems. While watching Jamaica work she seemed to almost be able
to see the moment when everything clicked for her. She began to
combine knowledge from the editorials and blogs of the financial
world with the reality of stock prices in reference to the bear
and bull movement of money and commodities. She saw the 
relationship to overseas movements in the Forex numbers to US
pricing with gains and failures of buys and sells with mergers
and take-over’s. It was the application of prior knowledge to the
reality of how the market shaped itself. Like dominoes, things
would fall into place and when something failed to fall right, it
was finding out why or why not. It was all that complicated, but
just that simple to the educated mind whose propensity for detail
in seeing triggers and stops. Selena’s PolyTech mentor Doc
Stevens once told her it was like the optical illusion
stereograms you saw in the Sunday funnies, where you stare
closely at the image and then pull it away slowly to have an
image form before your eyes. ie: if you looked at it with the
right perspective, the answer would become obvious if you
consider all the aspects. Stevens told her she had “the gift”. As
the day progressed she saw that Jamaica Browne had the gift as
well. She watched her work and consume the information like a
shark counting cards at the blackjack table.

“Jamaica, I have to ask you, if all of this came together so easy
for you why did you struggle so, refuse to learn, and come within
a hair of losing your job?” Selena asked and waited for an
answer.

“No one explained how to apply it all, follow the leads and the
like. It’s really simple, I should have just figured it out, but
I couldn’t wait to leave every day.” She said with her head down.

“You just need someone to push you, motivate you. I won’t be here
to kick your ass every day, you know. You’re smarter than me and
you could be me, better than me, if you applied yourself. I think
you look at the old guys here and think these people are way past
their prime. Let me tell you, some of them may be tired, but
every one of them is as sharp as you are right now, and don’t
forget it. You spent your morning filling legal pads with notes,
freezing screens, cross checking. When Trace came in here, he
already knew everything you did. He probably did that as soon as
he came in this morning and looked at the opening numbers. Now
you know how I do it and you’ve seen how the pieces fall. What
you did earlier on pads and screens, Trace did in his head,
making mental tabs like I showed you this morning. You know you
can do it.” Selena insisted.

“I can, I know I can!” Jamaica said.

“But, remember, if you fill your nose, drink the booze, wiggle
your ass, and bumpitty bump and suckitty suck your way around
town, it won’t happen. You have to be sharp and realize that you
made a commitment to this firm and they will fill their
commitment to you and make you a wealthy woman at a young age. IS
THAT STRAIGHT ENOUGH FOR YOU?” Selena asked with the trigger to
her temper set to go off again.

“Yes, ma’am. That is STRAIGHT ENOUGH. I don’t need to be reminded
how stupid I was. . . . . . and calling you “ma’am” was not being
a smart ass, I DO totally respect you and everything you are
doing for me. I know you could have just as easily fired me
yesterday. I know you were serious. I saw the shredded check in
the bin this morning when I dumped my shredder. Thank you for
saving me. I will not disappoint you, or myself.” Jamaica said
firmly, but clearly embarrassed.

“OK then, let’s get behind the desk and see what’s happening.
Let’s try to both work aloud and compare notes as we go.”

Chapter 17

For the first time since working with Miss Browne, Selena felt
comfortable enough to drop her attitude with her and begin to
work as teammates, side by side. They watched the numbers flash
on the screens and the TV analysis shows with financial experts
to get perspectives they might have missed. After an hour of note
taking and passing ideas to each other the intercom rang for a
general message to all stations, “Ladies and Gentlemen, in the
Great Room in 5 minutes” came the call from Deneigh who
apparently had been summoned by one of The Five. No more than a
minute later while she and Jamaica were collecting note pads the
intercom rang once again.

“Ms. Johnson, Alexis Konsantakis on your private line. Would you
like to take it or call her back after Great Room?” Deneigh
called out.
A subtle muted beep let Selena know the intercom was open for her
to speak aloud.

“I’ll get it Ms. Myersen, I’ll keep it short.”

“Hello Alexis, I’m so glad we were able to do business with you
on the condo. Thanks for considering us.” She beamed.

“Oh my Lord, not a problem. The miracle of your recovery made me,
and all of us at
The News Desk so happy. I missed you so badly after the whole
thing came down, no pun intended. You were the best lunch buddy I
ever had. A few years later I gave up my Wall Street job to
produce for them and I’ve branched into a few other things. Can
we do lunch today? I want to talk to you about doing another
screen test, maybe filling in or even getting your own nights. We
don’t use one host anymore.” She told Selena.

“Well, YES, I can do lunch, can we meet at 12:30 where we always
went?”

“Yes, it’s still there.”

“OK, we can talk then. I’m not sure about tackling that now, but
I do want to talk about it. Listen, I have a meeting in one
minute. Let’s talk at 12:30, OK?” She said finishing up.

Selena and Jamaica were the last two into The Great Room and were
about to sit down when Selena saw Deneigh taking her usual place
at the end of the table with her digital recorder and steno pad.

Before she sat down she looked to her and said, “In the future,
Miss Myersen, get someone from the steno pool to attend so you
can properly participate. We’ll work at filling your job up front
so you can devote more time to our work.”

As everyone at the table nodded in agreement with her, Selena saw
that Ross had been right about just taking the reins and doing
what needed to be done.

John Branniff stood, making two fists that he leaned on as he
spoke, taking the stance he always took when he asked for the
floor.

“I think we need to look a little deeper into something that
became obvious to me in the news and trades this morning.
Anyone?”

Each person at the table nodded and held up a notepad with one
word circled in their scribbling. GOLD.

“At least I know I’m not imagining it.” John said as he held up
his own notepad with GOLD written in big letters before speaking.

“There’s been a lot of movement of the stuff in a lot of strange
places. It looks like a few of the rebel African nations are
possibly buying weapons from China and maybe Iran. The transfer
of gold has been too heavy for it to be food or oil. If it’s
weapons I’m sure the CIA is watching it closely, but I’m more
concerned with all the selling, that it might drop the price and
panic a few people. Gold is always security, but this is a poor
time to buy gold as an investment, it’s at a record high and
buying to see more gains is risk speculation, but unless someone
bought it in the last 36 hours, it’s still way ahead of the price
paid. It closed at 1917 yesterday and it’s showing 1836 right
now. It was at 1786 two days ago, so I wouldn’t panic, but newbie
investors have set off flags on 4 of the folios I tend, wanting
to dump it. Do you think we should make a statement considering
so many new gold speculators? Veterans can see the writing on the
wall, price wise, but if enough people are skittish of their new
investment and sell, it could set off a little panic on those who
lost big on the last crash. I think we all know that if the
dollar goes down, only those with gold will financially survive.”

“Do you think it would be wise to mention the word “war”, if we
do make a statement?” Ross Curran asked.

“Ah, therein lies the rub, Mr. Curran. How do we convey the
selling and transfer of the stuff without saying the word and
leaving it so obvious that we don’t need to.”

Slim stood up and put a finger to his chin. “I think my friend at
the State Department could give me an idea if war in the region
is a reality. If it is we can say “rumored” or “suspected” in the
statement. I think we have to show a valid reason why these
people have sold their commodity, and not let folks think they
are just cashing in on the price change, although it’s the sale
that caused the price change.”

Selena shook her head and opined aloud, “Those who bought gold to
get rich and would sell it on fluctuations deserve what they get,
but when they’re our subscribers I suppose we should back them.”

Then, for the first time in any of these gatherings Jamaica
Browne spoke up, “We should be sure to approach them as not
making it obvious that we don’t approve of their path of
speculation. We have to keep in mind that a plus in their end of
day net worth is their goal. You’ll never convince them that
sitting on a losing investment is secure.”

John Branniff was the only one at the table not taken aback by
the fact she had spoken.

“THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a salient point we should all
carry with us in any calls we make on this. Also, in any
statement we decide to do.” Branniff said wiggling two fingers on
the hand outstretched over his notes as he looked them over
without looking up.

Ross Curran beamed inside at her comment and wanted to go over
and kiss Selena Johnson for the shock treatment she had given to
wake her.

“Mr. Beupour, why don’t you try your friend at the State
Department right now, while we wait? I think we should get a
statement out before closing today. Does anyone think that’s
being too aggressive?” Selena said.

Trace Fountain chuckled as he looked to Selena with a shake of
his head, agreeing it wasn’t too forward. “Ms. Johnson, your
actions in the hours you’ve been back with us indicate you have
planned to stay for a bit. May I add a “bravo”.”

Selena smiled widely and then turned red, embarrassed at being
singled out, only to comment, tongue in cheek, “Someone had to
get here and straighten you old farts out.”

Everyone in the room knew the “old farts” comment was a reference
to the late Charley Ford who always said he felt like that around
Selena, whom he treasured as the daughter he never had. They all
had a good chuckle while Jamaica tried to figure why such off
color comments drew laughs.

Trace stood and said “It’s almost 12:30, let’s break for lunch.
We can all take an hour, Ross and John have business uptown. I’ll
use the extra time to do the first draft of the statement.”

“Oh no, Mr. Fountain. You go for your hour. I’ll do the first
draft.” Deneigh said as if shocked by his words.

“Don’t be foolish Deneigh. Get the service to answer the phones
and you take the hour. How do you think you’ll be able to sit in
a partners chair if you don’t learn how to take a full hour? I’ll
have it ready for you to proof before the read through. I’ll hear
no argument.”

“Oh, I suppose I could shop now instead of after work.” She said.

Slim came out of his office having spoken to his connection at
the State Department.

“Well, for what it’s worth, there are rebels already fighting and
some opposition armies are beginning to assemble. They don’t know
how big this will all get, but certainly the official governments
are the ones moving the gold to protect themselves and the part
of the nations that are supporting them. We really don’t know how
widespread the rebel factions go.” Slim reported.

“Thank you my Beupour, I may try to gently word a part of the
statement to show that there is a certain franticness or
fanaticism pushing the sales, and not REAL reasons to panic at
all.” Trace said as he took his notes.

They all broke for lunch and went about their respective
business. Selena was the first one back and she called her code
in to the service to get the door buzzed. In the Great Room Trace
was eating a sandwich from his briefcase while he scribbled a
draft of the statement on a yellow pad. He nodded to Selena and
she went for her office, which she still hadn’t set up. As she
passed Jamaica’s office she saw the door propped open and Jamaica
behind her desk with a sandwich and a catalog to thumb through.
Selena nodded to her but heard her call.

“Selena, have you got a moment?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I have an embarrassing question, but my mind won’t let me rest
until I ask it.”

“OK, what is it?”

“Close the door please.” Jamaica said as she flushed with
embarrassment.

“Well, this morning when you were chewing me out again you made
reference to “if you fill your nose, drink the booze, wiggle your
ass, and bumpitty bump and suckitty suck your way around town.” I
know I must have been that obvious to everyone that I was
hungover a lot, and doing coke. But, I never had sex with anyone
that was even close to this company but I realize that it might
be common knowledge that young women enjoy sex while high.
However, who told you I was . . . er . .giv. . . doing oral sex?
Someone in here?”

“No one made ANY reference to your sexual habits Jamaica, don’t
be paranoid! My husband, who knows his way around Manhattan a lot
better than I wish, and mind you BEFORE he met me . . . so much
so we STILL probably can’t go to most of the trendy eateries
because of who he has been with in the past. Anyway, he told me,
and I know now from firsthand experience, that EVERY woman gives
head, blowjobs, or whatever you want to call it. Every woman acts
like it’s the worst thing you could do, but behind closed doors,
things change. If you think you’re more promiscuous than most
because you did, don’t. However, you really should know who
you’re with and how you feel about the person. My words were not
aimed just at you from anything specific I heard. I assumed, and
from your embarrassment, I assumed right. Now you may assume with
every woman you come into contact with. We all love it with the
right person.” Selena said with a wink as she got up.

As she propped Jamaica’s door the way it was and headed to her
office she heard Jamaica call out, “Thank you, I feel much better
now”, followed by a little giggle.

By 1:30 all of the offices were occupied with closed door and
just before 2:00 Deneigh opened the intercoms for final statement
review in 5 minutes. She read the statement prepared by J Trace
Fountain with her edits. Each member nodded and took notes for
changes and in 10 minutes Deneigh had the final ready to publish.

As they were about to break they all stood and waited for Ross
Curran to give them a time for the press to be let in for the
reading. Ross looked to Selena and gave a stern tip of his chin
as if to nod to her, wanting her to assume the reins.
“Deneigh, inform the media that we will have a statement at , um
. . 3:45. Make them aware that I won’t be doing any interviews
beyond the subject.” Selena said before they all repaired to
their lairs.

About 3:30 the First Financial News crews were in to set up
lighting, pull out the backdrop curtain and hang the logo as WSGG
was a long time advertiser and sponsor.
At precisely 3:45, on a cue from Deneigh, the door of each office
opened and the group walked to assemble before the logo and into
the lights. Deneigh stood with her arms folded chatting with one
of the newsmen when Selena called to her,

“Miss Myersen, we’re waiting for you to join the line so we can
begin.”

Deneigh tried to act as if she weren’t surprised and came up
where Selena positioned her right next to her, with Jamaica
Browne flanking her other side. They all stood stoic and after a
pause when the red light came on Selena stepped to the lectern
and read.

“The price of gold has made some wild highs and lows in the past
few days causing concern in the eyes of some investors. Be
assured that no matter what the price of this precious commodity,
it is, and always will be, the safest, most trusted, investment.
If I may give some . . . . . . .” Selena continued keeping the
statement at just over 45 seconds. When she finished she turned
and stood back with her colleagues until the red lights went off.

Reporters arms flew up wanting to ask questions, “Ms. Johnson,
Ms. Johnson?”

Deneigh went to the lectern and simply said, “There will be no
questions today.”

As Selena was about to step into her office one reported shouted
loudly, “Ms Johnson, does this mean you are back to assume your
position with the firm on a full time basis?”

She was about to close her door when she stepped back into view
and said, “It is as it seems until it changes.”, and then she
closed her door.

“I had lunch with Alexis today.” Selena said as Joe poured wine
for her after she had changed from her work clothes.

“She’s full time with the network now?” He asked.

“She could go back to the investment firm, but they consider her
work to be a conflict, now. When she was just reporting, it was
OK, like WSGG with me. She writes copy and editorial now, so they
gave her unpaid leave for 2 years. She’s trying to figure out if
she has a future in broadcasting.” She said sipping her wine.

“She seems to hold a lot of the strings right now.”

 “They’re working on a shoestring right now until this hotshot
from the BBC comes in. She’ll be his top production assistant,
but if she can run the show without him, why do they need him?”
She wondered.

“Easy, hon, because she hasn’t fucked up yet. Her division just
has so many shows and she can’t change that content, she just has
to make sure it all gets on the air. When it came down that they
wanted to cut 5% of the talent budget she was going to sell the
condo, but we’re picking up the lease on that to cover for her.
Why they leased 2 condo’s for talent is beyond me anyway.”

“Well, she must have some leeway, she offered me a job, but I’m
not sure. I certainly wouldn’t do it for the money, a half hour
of Union scale, but it is fun and just across the street.” She
told him while making a doubting face, unsure of how she felt
about it.

“If you want your ego fluffed by being recognized, you should do
it. It’s not like Joe Schmoe is going to recognize you, just
stockheads and people too lazy to change the channel.” He said
chuckling.

Selena grew a little huffy at Joe.
“It’s not like they’ll be throwing rose petals before me as I
walk up the street. It’s more like dropping a jar of olives in
the market and somebody saying, “oh look, there’s that stock news
lady, . . . . .butterfingers!”, that’s the extent of being
recognized. I don’t have that kind of ego.” She said pointing a
finger at him in her defense.

“Essy, whatever you want to do that makes you happy. You were so
proud of yourself before when tried it. Maybe it’s good for your
self esteem.” Joe decided.

“Well, the media rewrote history after we came out. They showed
me doing the report, but they were only demos. 9/11 was to be my
first night actually doing it, but I WOULD have been happy doing
it, for my personal sense of accomplishment. Speaking of that,
Ross told me today to show leadership initiative and I could
basically run the firm, not be CEO, but hold the reins. I guess
no one really wants to call themselves the “boss” and Ross says
he overheard me giving a ration of shit to Jamaica Browne and
then to Slim. He likes my style. I told him I was just protecting
my investment, but he says that’s the shot in the arm the group
needs.” She told Joe as he stood and slammed his fist into his
hand.

“You mentioned Slim! Shit,  I FORGOT! Slim and Shelly are
stopping over at 8 o’clock, on their way home from dinner. They
wanted us to join them, but it didn’t sound good to me. I’m
sorry, I forgot.” Joe told her as he stood and began to pick up
what few things were out of place.

“Well, I don’t feel like getting dressed, but I’m not going to
meet them for the first time in 9 years in sweat pants. Besides,
it’s good that Slim and I establish a personal relationship
outside work. I ripped him a new one today over a situation. I
hope he can sort it out, you know, what’s work, what’s not.” She
said as she changed and Joe walked in to do the same.

“Was it necessary, or was it that damn ego of yours.” Joe said
jibing her.

Selena turned and jabbed a finger at Joe.
“Joe, this isn’t funny.” She said straight faced and dead
serious, “They were going to blow away their whole investment in
this woman, plus the cost of finding another replacement and
paying for his or HER education. We’re talking probably a couple
million dollars wasted and that comes out of PARTNER shares.” She
said defending herself.

“I’m sorry, that ISN’T funny. Was this that fear of being
politically correct and possible harassment charges you were
talking about?” Joe asked.

“Yes, rather than handle it all directly they were all going to
hide inside their foreskins and save their damn male ego’s, but
it’s over now and we won’t speak of it tonight, OK?” She said as
she pulled up a pair of designer jeans to finish her outfit, Joe
looked on.

“Goodbye cute little tushy, I’ll see you later.” Joe said trying
to be cute.

Selena stopped and turned to him. “Your “ego” comment just now
will leave you jerking off alone tonight and THINKING about my
“cute little tushy”.” She snarled leaving Joe to figure if she
was serious or not.

“Oh, I get it, SEX as a weapon.” He said smartly

“No, SEX as a deterrent. I get respect at work, I’ll get it at
home too.” She countered snidely as she walked past him.

The evening with Slim and Shelley began as other reunion meeting
began, with tears and promises of not asking too many questions
and remembering the press conference where they answered all they
wanted to answer.

For the second time is as many nights Selena saw a former lover
of Joe’s cry and blubber uncontrollably over seeing him again.
She was already a little at odds with Joe over his kidding about
her denial of the ego stroke from Alexis job offer. Right now she
wondered if Joe was THAT good a lover. He was all she knew, was
he THAT much better than most others. These women acted like his
dick spurted gold bullion or was the fountain of youth. Were
their few times under him THAT good? She was mad at herself for
being so snippy about their gushing, but he was still in her
doghouse. But wait, Slim was a renowned cocksman of his own rite
and still Shelley carried on. “Maybe he IS that good, but he’s
not getting any honey tonight.” She thought to herself.

As the night wore on and drinks flowed talks of old times came up
and the couples sat on opposing love seats with Joe’s hand firmly
gripping her knee, pulling it to his and running his hand down
her calf while they laughed and reminisced.

“Shit, he’s making me wet as hell and he knows he’s getting
something tonight despite what I told him. I love him so much, I
can’t resist the shithead.” She thought while she turned and
smiled to him

They all made plans to get together at their upstate homes and
perhaps have dinner or some other social gathering. As Slim
hugged Selena good night, he whispered “I know work is work and
this is different. It’s all understood.”

As the door clicked shut, Joe looked to Selena and they both
quickly began to pick up the room, straighten furniture. Neither
of them enjoyed having maid service come in every day. They
preferred their privacy and liked to leave their life out and
live here as if it were their own apartment. Instructions were
left at the desk that they would request towels and linen changes
and no other service was needed. Selena also knew that more than
once maids had done more than clean the room and fluffed more
than pillows with Joe Johnson around. She trusted him, she didn’t
trust them.

As Selena put the last glasses in the dishwasher Joe held it open
and had it ready to run as soon as he closed it.

“Meet you in bed in a couple minutes? I’ll set up the coffee
machine for you.” Joe said as he kissed her shoulder.

“You can meet me in bed, but nothing will happen. My ego is so
big that I just may get off sleeping with myself tonight.” She
said as she pulled away briskly, even though she yearned for his
touch.

“Oh, come on Essy, you spoiled brat. We kid and joke all of the
time and you let a harmless little joke, that rang of truth by
the way, get under your skin. You get all the respect in world at
home.” Joe said indignantly.

Selena was just going to walk away, but she wanted the last word.

“Joe, respect, RESPECT, . . . would be taking my words at face
value and not twisting them to make your silly joke about ego to
hurt my feelings. I didn’t play with myself 3000 times wishing
you were near to get my life back and have you think making fun
of me is a joke. I grew a set of balls at work and asserted
myself because I saw things happening that NEVER would have
happened when I walked out the door there on 9/10/2001. It was
still the next day for me when I walked back in and I was shocked
at what I saw. When dear old Charlie and Will were there this
shenanigan and the way they treat Deneigh would never have stood.
They would have been in Ross’s office in a flash. Some of them
are old and tired, I understand that, but complacency has no
excuse. We’re there to protect people’s money but, we piss ours
away? Not while I’m there, they won’t. Not when it’s my money. If
that’s my ego, call me an egomaniac. AND! . . . ” She said as she
began to turn away but pivoted back to raise her finger in his
direction again. “If I want a break from all of the shit at work
to walk into the fantasy world at FNN, be treated special and
have my face go out to moneyheads with the days money news,
EXCUSE ME for wanting some recognition outside of those
brownstone walls for what I do, what I know. When I give that
news, I know what I’m talking about and present myself that way.
Half of the other women you see reporting finances don’t know the
Dow Jones from the last jar of mayonnaise they held up in their
last commercial shoot. Can’t I feel like I’m doing something
valuable?”

When she finished she strode into the bathroom, stripped off her
clothes and put on pajamas instead of a nightgown. She went to
the toilet and walked past a still stunned Joe and got into bed.
Joe still had no words and went into the bath and performed the
same things she did before getting into bed. She was turned away
from him and had her body pillow she usually hugged, behind her
as a barrier.

“Selena, I had no idea.” Joe said, his voice breaking as he felt
so upset at hurting her.

“Don’t think the “spoiled brat” comment got past me either.
You’re my husband, not my fucking father.” She said coldly to his
near tears mea culpa.

“So this is the way we go to bed, you mad at me for a comment
that hung on a thousand other things I didn’t know about?” Joe
said hoping to roll over to her side but she raised her voice
once again.

“I just want to go to sleep and have the day end! I don’t want it
to continue. Someone told me that I chewed them out, was told I
tore Slim a new asshole, and then laid you out in lavender. Can’t
this day END!!” She said starting to cry.

Joe listened to her sob for a few moments as it tore his heart
apart. He slid out of bed and went to her side and knelt on the
floor and put his lips near her ear.

“Selena, where in your beautiful mind do you think I would ever
say anything to purposely, maliciously hurt you in any way. If
you had a tough day today we should have talked about it more.
Maybe the pressure of the job is too much for you still. We’ve
been through a lot. Please don’t think I said anything that was
hurtful. I was only trying to be cute with you, hoping you would
take it that way. From where I see NOW, you were correct in
everything you did today, showing your passion, even when it was
aimed at me if you thought I was trying to make fun or demean
you. But you know I would never do that. Please put it in
perspective, your crying is tearing me apart thinking I may have
caused it. You know I would never hurt you.”

She lay silent, seeming to process his words and then took the
corner of the pillow sleeve and wiped her eyes and turned them to
look to Joe.

“It’s my passion for what I do for our group that drives me, and
I’m not seeing the passion the way we all had it 10 years ago.
When Will and Charley died they must have taken a lot with them.
Ross knows I have it, that’s why he wants to pass the baton, and
I want it. But how do I build the passion back in the others?
Deneigh and Jamaica both have fires lit under them now, even
Slim, they will be easy to lead, but I’m frustrated with Ross,
Trace and John. I know you’re thinking “what does this have to do
with us?”, but this is what I brought home with me. I felt so
good hooking up with Alexis and what she offered. I thought it
might be an outlet for the passion I feel for what I do, if I can
make one person understand better. Then I guess I thought you
were making fun of me, and that was childish of me. It was like I
was fighting you and you’re the last person I have to fight with.
I love you more every second and it tore me apart to say the
words I said to you. I was a spoiled little brat in a lot of
ways. Thanks for giving me the time and perspective to think this
out.”

Joe showered her with kisses on her forehead and even kissed away
some of her leftover tears as she spoke and then he offered her
this, “If you had a private meeting with the old partners and
tell them what you just told me, maybe it would shake them out of
their doldrum, or maybe they just want to move on.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, that they’ll just give up and leave
me there and that ruins our plans.” She said starting to cry
again. “I know you’ll tell me to just walk away now and let them
wither, but I can’t do that. I wanted to finish my 5 years before
saying I wanted to leave a mark on the world. But walking away to
let the group wither and die isn’t the mark I had in mind. Just
tell me you’ll support me and I promise I’ll get out as soon as I
can say it’s all OK. Can you do that?”

“If it means making you happy, I’ll go along with anything. We’re
getting the condo because I know you want to be here for at least
a year, you know I support you. If this means you want to skip
Jamaica and we can do it again sometime later, that’s OK too.”
Joe told her knowing she may not want to leave for 2 weeks at
this juncture.

Selena bolted up onto her elbows almost cracking heads with Joe
who was so close.

“If you think I’m going to give up 2 weeks of making love,
getting fucked every which way to Sunday, in paradise, with my
husband, you’ve got another thing coming. We’re going to Jamaica
and I plan on draining all sex juice we both can make for two
weeks, and maybe even more. The romance won’t stop. It’ll be
dirty sex, romantic sex, under the moon, out in the sun, on the
bed, under the bed, everywhere. We aren’t losing this!” She said
with the passion of a child being told Christmas was cancelled.


“Whoa, Selena. I’m with you on this. I was just saying if you
didn’t think you could leave, I could go along with it, not that
I wanted to.” He said defending himself.

“No, my stand will be made with the entire group before I leave,
I’ll be able to leave. Now get up in this bed and show me how
much you love me.” She said laughing like the old carefree
Selena, “and take off those pajama bottoms!” She said as she
slipped hers down and into the bed.

Joe was quite taken by her quick change in demeanor after she had
orally sorted out her problems almost like a trip to the
psychologists couch. She had let stress get to her and had become
very protective and defensive of herself.

Normally, he would have been sexually excited by just seeing her
in the bed, but this situation had left him without a sexual
thought, until now. He just wanted to hold her against him, feel
her warmth and that would have him ready. He slid into the bed
and maneuvered between her legs and covered her body, pressing
his lips to hers. She panted between kisses and slipped a hand
between them. She felt he was soft and began to bring her other
hand down between them causing him to lift up as if in mid
push-up. She filled her fingers with saliva and pressed it
between her sex lips, taking his softened, but encouraged, penis
in her hand pressing the head to her lips and lifting her hips to
get him in her.

“Grow in me, let my pussy mouth suck you hard.” She said as she
squirmed to feel him, pubis to pubis.

She flexed and kegeled as she brought her arms up and around his
back getting him all the way in. Joe resisted the urge for force
more blood into his cock until she settled under him. In one hard
pinch from deep in his groin he grew to full mast within her
causing her to startle with an “Oooof” as the head of his cock
kissed the opening of her uterus.

“You’re so big, how do you hold it back like that?” She cried in
a whisper.

“Willpower, lots of it, because I love you.” He said as he
started to move within her.

“NO!, No, wait!” She said, pulling him tighter, “Just let me feel
you fill me and taste your mouth, your lips and neck.”

She held him tight to her and she did as she intended, thrusting
her tongue into his mouth and then tasting his lips and running
her tongue over his chin and down to his neck ,as far as she
could reach and then back up to his mouth.

“You know that no matter what words come out of my mouth, how mad
I may get, how poorly I might seem to treat you, I love you more
than I did the second before. Forgive my mouth when it says
things my brain hasn’t processed, thoughts I haven’t deciphered.
Between the race out of that building (the Tower) and the day you
found me, I guess I lost some patience, some ability to process
others feelings. Just give me time and it’ll all come together.”
She whispered as she began to undulate and lose her grip on his
back.

“Cum together is always a good idea.” Joe said as he began to
pound her hard and he saw her eyes roll back and orgasm begin.

She gripped him tightly as her spasm lasted as long as she could
hold the top and then blew out a large ball of air. “We can’t cum
together, I’m not protected, just let me know.” She protested,
irritated that she hadn’t seen her Doctor yet.

Joe showed great stamina, lasting a good 5 minutes before he gave
up and said he had to cum, and soon. “I’ll hose you down!” he
said as his breath caught, orgasm near.

“No, this top will stain! Besides, I want it!” She said pulling
her legs up and losing him as she scuttled under him and he sat
back on his haunches.

Her mouth covered him just as he shot and filled her mouth. She
swallowed hard once and then worked her lips back and forth over
the head as he seemed to pause and then shoot another hard shot,
making her gag a bit, still keeping her seal over him. She
laughed, though her mouth was full of his penis and semen, and
then swallowed. She relaxed herself resting her head on the bed
as he deflated and allowed her to keep the head in her mouth. She
played with it with her tongue until he cried uncle and took
himself in hand.

Joe wanted to hold her and was moving to lay beside her when one
knee slid off the silk sheet and he fell the other way, his face
even with her bottom cheeks.

“Are you OK?”  She giggled.

“Yes, I wanted to kiss you, but this will do.” He said as he ran
his tongue between the cleft.

She whooped and jumped up turning around to get face to face and
share the kiss he craved. He tasted some of his semen yet and
drove his tongue further into her mouth. When the kiss broke she
smiled to him and then her face turned sullen.

“Why do I feel like I’ve lived the nine years at WSGG in just two
days? It’s all happening so fast, it’s like they knew I would
just come in and take everything over. They all got lazy and
needed a boot in the ass. What if I had decided to walk away?
I know there’s a lot of pressure on me, but once I get through
these few days and we get off to Negril I’ll be able to
decompress. I’m kind of hoping that once I’m gone Ross gets the
itch to maintain his hand on the throttle. As much as I’m willing
to take it, he can have it as long as he steers it right. They
were too blasé to let that much time and money slip away.”

Joe put a finger over her lips, “We just made passionate love,
and you tasted my very core and seed. It’s not the time to talk
about work. 10 years ago my recuperative powers were good enough
that I could have stopped you from talking in a most pleasurable
way.
Now I’m just going to have to tell you to shut up and go to
sleep.” He said as he kissed her nose and pinched her bottom.

“OUCH!  That hurt! But I’m so sorry Joey for the work talk!” She
squealed as she jumped away and rearranged the bed while Joe
slipped into place and she covered him. They spooned for a few
moments until they faded into sleep and their bodies moved away,
she on her stomach hugging her body pillow and he falls to his
back.

Chapter 18

Selena was happy to have gotten out for work without ever waking
Joe. She liked it when he got as much sleep as possible so he
wouldn’t fade in the evenings. They were up until almost 1:00 am
that morning and if he was up with her at 6:30 he surely would be
asleep in the chair in front of the news when she got home.

She felt great this morning having spilled her guts to Joe about
everything bothering her and asking for a little advice. Plus she
had let her mind invent some war with him that didn’t exist in
reality and she was able to settle that while making love.
Mornings after sex, and there were quite a few of them, always
made her feel freshened and clear.

Having finished her coffee and fruit in the hotel the concierge
on duty saw her walking to the entrance promenade.

“Good Morning Ms. Johnson, can I summon a ride for you?” He
asked.

“No, not necessary this morning. It may be cool fall weather, but
the sun is bright and I could use the walk.” She said as she
pushed a pair of sunglasses on and turned up her collar. She
arranged her brief under her arm and took a wide brimmed hat from
her carry bag she would hold in front her that held her few
personal items, sweater, scarf and some snack bars. She thrust
her other hand into her coat pocket for the brisk walk, her
fingers wrapped around the pepper spray can in her pocket. She
felt safe overall in this area but feared the overzealous
media-ite. There was an agreed “stay away and don’t bother” to
WSGG’s media partners, but still there were a few inquiring
minds.

Her walk the few blocks filled her lungs with fresh air and she
felt a spring in her step to get out in the cool fall air. As she
neared the brownstone front of her goal she saw Jamaica Browne
approaching from the other way. As they both crossed from the
sunny side of the block Jamaica gave her a peculiar look and then
startled when they both turned to go up the steps.

“Miss, this is a private concern.” Jamaica said coldly.

“For God’s sake, it’s me Jamaica!” Selena said as she took off
her sunglasses and let her hair out of her chapeau.

“Holy crap Ms. Johnson, you’ve got a great disguise!” Jamaica
said dead pan and serious.

Selena reached out and took her hands in hers.
“Jamaica, first of all, PLEASE, let me be Selena outside of the
office. We can be friends, really. I know you think I’m a
hard-ass who’s got you in my sights, but nothing could be further
from the truth. What’s gone on here in the last few days is me
protecting my money, our money, ALL the partners money, and our
jobs. Once you attain partner you will have the same say in any
situation as any other partner, no matter how tenured they are.
We have no Chief Executive, but an acting spokesman to set the
lead and take matters in hand that need to be taken that
direction. I know I’ve only been back a few days but it looks
like that has fallen to me, but it could just as easily be anyone
in here.
Yes, without a swift turnaround, I would have fired you in a
whisper a few days ago. Now you seem part of the team and until
that changes, and I suspect it won’t, you’re safe until the next
partner vote. Work hard and you’ll pass muster easily. Please,
let’s be friends and work together. OK?”

“I feel like part of the team, I just wasn’t sure where I stood
with you. Working with you in the office together is intimidating
because I learn something every time you open your mouth, and I
want to learn. Last night I went and looked at the apartment your
husband arranged for me and I signed a lease, it will be perfect.
I took the train, or subway, half the trip is above ground, to
Rye and it takes an hour each way and at least at the hour I took
the trip, it’s mostly business people commuting. I even met a
cute guy who goes that way every day. He showed me where to walk
before I got off the train.” Jamaica said, seemingly relieved of
any fears she had of Selena.

“He didn’t get off with you, Right? Because that would have been
creepy.” Selena said tipping her head wondering if the naiveté of
a non-city person had surfaced.

“No, he even said he shouldn’t since we didn’t know each other.
He was nice. He filled me in about the trains. The trip back was
mostly students going home to the city I guess.
Sweatshirts and backpacks were from Iona, Sarah Lawrence, and
some Japanese school I think right near the apartment. The super
said I could move in between now and the end of the month, once I
give him a deposit and a month rent.  I can have the rest of this
month free.”

“Well, get everything in writing, and don’t trust anyone. There
are lots of people in this city who want to separate you from
your money, your credit cards, your purse, and your panties. Be
careful all of the time. That guy on the train may have been
cute, but until you establish who he is, no matter how nice he is
or may seem, don’t trust him, nor she he trust you. I hate to
make this sound so cold and daunting, but you could end up robbed
and raped and dumped in a culvert and no one would care if you
lived or died. The city is as cruel and dangerous as it is fun
and exciting.” Selena warned her just before they both finished
going up the stairs to have Deneigh buzz them in.

When all of the partners had settled into their offices Selena
was still sitting with Jamaica watching the boards together while
they read the days business papers, read the biz-blogs, and
watched the financial talking heads. Twice Jamaica Browne took
herself away from their tandem work spot to check out a trade or
current price, trying to chase down “something suspicious or out
of the ordinary.” When the coffee service had made it’s
mid-morning delivery with items for a snack or break (doughnuts,
pastries, granola bars, etc) along with a fresh urn of joe Selena
smelled the aromatic brew and got up and began to gather her
things.

“Ms. Browne, I feel you’re quite well off on your own. I haven’t
been in my office for 9 years and I’ll bet it needs a bit of
personalizing. Don’t be shy about calling me, or any of the
others with questions, but you seem to have a handle on it.”

“Can I begin to personalize my accounts?” Jamaica asked.

“How many do you have?

“They’ve given me about 300, mostly new, mostly small folio,
under 250K.”

“OK, eventually you’ll spend a quarter to half your time combing
accounts, looking for safer ways for subscribers to manage their
funds. Show your suggestions to Slim or I before you make any
calls. Just come to one of our offices and knock, OK? My baby
sitting job is over. I want to be your friend, your partner.”
Selena said with a big smile and a wink for her.

Selena opened the door to leave as Jamaica spoke back to her,
“Ms. Johnson, I could never thank you enough for the help and
guidance you’ve given me. I was an out of control train about to
go off the tracks and you stopped me and got me right. I had no
self-esteem, no confidence, nowhere to turn to. Thank you and
thanks to your husband for the assist finding me the furnished
apartment. I’ve got a lot of little things to move from the
furnished digs Mr. Curran had arranged for me her in Manhattan,
but I’ll be in the new place by Monday morning when I leave for
work. This is what I wanted when I came here. Thank you.”

One thought ran through Selena’s mind as she strode to her
office, “Three or four days and I’ve got her on the right track
and they were fine to just let her walk away and waste all of
that money, time and talent. We should all have a talk about
spine. I’m not going to carry the weight of this group on my
shoulders.”

Sitting behind the desk in her office officially for the first
time brought back a lot of memories for Selena. She opened her
brief and put a few personal items on her desk and turned the
switch to “in” for the light outside the door. She picked up the
coat she had dropped in her guest chair earlier and went to hang
it in the small cloak press in the corner next to her book
shelves. There were three shelves with what appeared to be
hardware boxes and a clothes bar with one empty hanger on it. At
the bottom of the press was a box labeled “Selena Hanson-personal
effects to be picked up”. Under the bold marker words were a pen
scrawl, “Scott Hanson notified 10/12/2001”.

She pulled the box out and brought it to her chair and set it in,
opening the four fold lock of the flaps.

One by one, fighting back tears, and smiling at each memento she
took out. Framed photos of Joe, her parents, and one of her with
Joe in Jamaica. She pulled out an appointment book that boldly
said 2001 on the front and a ribbon marker pulled through the
page for 9/12. There was a teak wood block polished with a plate
on the front with her name, and 2 pen turrets with the gold pens
taped to the bottom. She took from the box a maroon address book
she had since college with her friends and contacts over the
years in it. She hugged it to herself and placed it neatly in the
top drawer where she always kept the tattered book. As she set it
in a white envelope showed its corner from the book and she
curiously pulled it out. It wasn’t sealed and as soon as she
opened the flap she remembered what it was, mad money. Five crisp
100 dollar bills for those “just in case” moments. At the bottom
of the box were her framed diploma’s and awards. As she took each
out she returned each of them to the place on the wall where they
were, their hangers still intact on the wall. It was apparent
that her office had not been touched since that day. It had
obviously been cleaned and dusted regularly. These people truly
loved and missed her, so much so that they constructed another
office for Jamaica Browne. She knew her sentimental Dad could
never have come to pick up her effects, and if the office were to
ship them, it would mean an end to Selena Hanson Johnson for
them.

She sat back in her leather chair and cried hard tears, she was
so moved it all. She turned on all of her screens and booted her
computer as she tried to compose herself. Her monitor blue
screened as soon as it began to boot stating that the operating
system was not compatible with the main frame software. Her phone
rang and the caller ID showed “Internet and Office Technologies”.
She composed herself as much as she could and answered the phone
with a soft “Hello?”

“Good morning, this is IOT, we manage your main frame and
troubleshoot your system. You’re trying to boot an old desktop
computer to the main frame, which is no longer necessary. I know
this office has been dark for a bit but you need to only plug
your monitor into the hot box on the side of your desk. There
should be a free standing hard drive there for your personal
files and wireless mouse and keyboard. They were all issued for
this office, but never registered. Your in-house contact is a
Deneigh Myersen, who should help you straighten out problems.”

“Thank you for your help.” She said softly as she hung up and
began to gather herself.

She went to the press and got the biggest of the two boxes and
opened it, it was the hard drive the tech spoke of. There was an
envelope with a cable in it and a notice from Deneigh about
hooking the hard drive to her old tower via USB, turning on the
hard drive and restarting the tower. This would transfer files.
When transfer was completed it said to arrange to return the
tower to the storage room. It was dated December 4, 2006. She
chuckled but took the 10 by 4 inch from the box and followed the
instructions. As soon as she restarted her tower the screen had a
notice from Internet and Office Technologies telling her to wait
while files transferred. In a matter of minutes it was complete
and she disconnected all of her wires and went for the other box
in the press. It was a wireless keyboard and mouse with two
batteries wrapped snugly in poly bearing an expiration date of
Oct 2012.  She brought it all to the desk and plugged her monitor
into the “hot box”, the top of which had two touch pads, one said
boot and the other hibernate. She touched the “boot” button and
in a flash a Windows screen came up with all of the icons she
would need to conduct business as usual. She put the batteries in
the mouse and a small light began flashing on the side of the hot
box, the mouse and keyboard were active. She smiled at the new
technology WSGG had stepped up to, even though it was 5 years old
and she and Joe had similar tech at home.

She opened her door and clicked her way up the walkway to the
back of the building to the storage room and opened the door
hoping to find a hand truck or rolling cart of some kind. The
rolling cart was where it always was and she wheeled it to her
office, all the while the only sound in the great room was the
murmur of TV’s behind the office doors and clicking on her heels
on the tiled walkway off the carpet in The Great Room. She lifted
her tower and other wired paraphernalia onto the cart and rolled
it back to the Storage Room. Flipping on a light this time, to be
sure she put the cart out of the way until maintenance could take
care of it, she saw a large 4 foot by 5 foot frame covered by
what looked like the deep blue velvet back drop that was
stretched out behind the group for press statements. Out of
curiosity she pulled back the cover to see what the framed
picture was.

Selena near fell to her knees when she looked at a painted
portrait of her own image, surrounded in a spectacular gold
detailed frame. At the bottom was a gold plate reading “Selena
Hanson Johnson 1980 - 2001. We shall never forget her wit, her
smile and her brilliant dedication to our purpose.”

Her knees wobbled as she stood back and leaned to the wall. Her
eyes welled, once again, with tears flowing generously. Perhaps
for the first time she had seen that she truly was dead and gone
at one time in the eyes of so many. Had her fellow partners loved
and respected her THAT much to put this tribute up for her? She
walked into The Great Room and looked at the blank wall where the
velvet curtain was pulled for statements and saw two hooks and
the faint outline where a picture once was. Overcome with
emotion, she rushed to her office and closed the door to sit
alone. She turned off her “in” light and locked her door. Once
she was composed she picked up her phone and called Joe.

“Joe, can you come and get me and take me to lunch?” She asked
abruptly.

“Well, no, you should have planned it before I’m supposed to go .
. .” He began to answer.
“JOE, CAN YOU COME AND GET ME AND TAKE ME TO LUNCH? NOW!” She
shouted into the phone.

Sensing something was wrong Joe changed his mind, “Yes, Selena
I’m on my way. I’ll call when I pull up, OK?”

“Yes!” She said hanging up and redialing Deneigh.

“Miss Myersen, Joe is coming to get me for an early lunch, we
have business to take care of, and I’ll be back by 1 pm.” She
said quickly, not wanting to break down over the phone.

She put on her coat and pulled the collar up and slipped her
sunglasses over her reddened eyes, hoping no one would see her or
want to speak with her before she left. Joe must have been close
because her phone rang within a few minutes.

“Essy, I’m pulling up in front, are you OK?” He said as she
answered with a terse “OK”.

She left her office and clicked her way up the hall and through
the door into reception and past Deneigh. She kept her head down
and did not acknowledge Deneigh’s confused call out of “Have a
nice lunch.”

Down the steps quickly and into the car she bent forward and
broke into hard tears causing Joe alarm.

“Selena! Is there a medical emergency here? Did you quit? Were
you fired? What is it?” He asked in almost panic.

“NO! Just bring me someplace where we can talk and be alone!
Don’t go home, I don’t want to walk through the lobby like this!”
She said continuing to sob.

“A courier from the TV station just came over with the key to the
condo and a lease for us to sign. I was going there to look at
the place. We’ll be alone. We finalize with Alexis at 5 at the
studio, you’re supposed to read for her.” Joe said quickly hoping
he hadn’t confused her.

“That’s fine, if we’ll be alone!” She said sitting up and using
tissues to wipe her tears away from her eyes and blow her nose.

In the pre-lunch hour traffic Joe got to the building quickly and
drove into the garage showing the attendant the lease and the key
to get in. The key read “entrance A” and Joe drove to that
section of the semi-underground lot and quickly got out hurrying
over to get Selena’s door and walk her to the A elevator. He
didn’t try to flush information from her, he just wanted to get
her alone.

He slid the key into the A slot and the door opened, using the
key again he put it into the slot in the elevator and he felt the
car lift and then stop on the 2nd floor. When the door opened
there was a short hallway with 4 doors. Theirs was A-2 and he
opened the door and found a furnished, clean smelling condo with
new carpet awaiting them. They stepped inside and Selena turned
into Joe and hugged him so tightly he almost couldn’t breathe.

“WHAT IS IT?”

“I was dead to everyone. I was memorialized. They hung a portrait
of me, a painted portrait like I was an assassinated queen, some
sainted woman, Joan of Arc. I was aware we were presumed dead,
but it never came home to me until I saw that.” She said through
her tears, still leaving Joe confused.

“OK, Selena. You’re going to have to calm down and put all of
this in order for me. I can see how upset you are, but I can’t
find the reason in your rambling. Now sit down.” He said showing
her their new sofa in the furnished condo.

Selena sat and sup-sucked for a few moments and finally calmed
down.

“I had to go to the storage room to drop something off and found
this huge painting, about 5 foot tall and almost as wide with
this gold leaf frame, and it was ME! Obviously they commissioned
someone to do it and there was a gold memorial plate at the
bottom reading Selena Hanson Johnson 1980 - 2001. We shall never
forget her wit, her smile, and her brilliant dedication to our
purpose. I went out and saw it had been hanging at the end of The
Great Room, like I was some Goddess, Queen or saint, like Joan of
Arc. I guess I never thought of us as dead for all that time,
just missing.”

“Essy, my sweet, get a grip. You knew everyone thought we were
killed in the attack.”

“But, I! . . . . I! . . . . .I never considered myself to be
dead. It just hit me that the world went on without me and I was
an inspiration. Those people lionized me. Then I come in like
Jesus driving the moneychangers from the temple, scolding Ross,
ripping Slim and damn near firing Jamaica. Imagine what they
think of me NOW?” She said, distraught.

“Selena, that’s exactly WHY they lionize you. Your fervent
dedication and not letting anything stand in your way. They
needed you to wake them up. They WANTED you to wake them up!
Imagine the big player on the team gets hurt and is thought lost
forever. Then out of nowhere he runs onto the field and saves the
day. Who would be mad at him? As far as being “dead” the only
people who never got a firm grip of the reality that we were lost
and presumed dead were your parents. Even they had headstones
erected with our names on them so your Mom would have a place to
go and cry and talk to you. Your Mom never got past holding your
pillow and pajamas in our bed. I thought we had talked this out.”
Joe said hoping to make sense with her and calm her.

“Oh . . . . . WE DID!  . . and I don’t need any more shrink
sessions, either! Anyone would have a problem swallowing this. We
should sue those assholes from the ambulance that day. They
fucked our lives forever!” She shouted.

“Selena, just calm down and chill a bit.” Joe said as he held her
tenderly to him. “How much money would it take for you to forget
everything that happened and to get your baby back?” He queried
softly in her ear.

“Oh, NO amount of money would fix any of this and if they had
known I was pregnant when I got there they would have aborted me
anyway. Emory Richards conscience saved our baby, but if he knew
how to write out a fucking report we might not have lost the
years.” She sobbed into his ear.

“Again, though, how much money? Let’s live out what we have left
and we have so much to live for. We’ll meet and know our baby
someday, I promise you that. We’ve already missed on raising her
and showing her the love we have and where she came from, but it
sounds like her parents have done a fine job, and we shouldn’t
dwell on what we have, or had, no control of. I promise you that
we will know her someday.” He said holding her tightly as he
pulled his head back to see her eye to eye.

“I’m sorry for freaking out on you, it was very traumatic to see
that painting and the dedication, and you can understand that,
right?” She said hugging her face to his chest.

“Yes, I understand it. I would worry if you didn’t have a
reaction to it. We probably have more of these moments. I’ve had
mine as well, you know. There have been people who never heard
the story of us rising from the ashes. After this taste of life
as usual, going to Jamaica will be a welcome break.” He
whispered.

She tightened her grip on him saying, “I can’t wait to make love
in the warm sand in the cabana beside our place there.”

“Sand up your butt and all?” He joked.

She broke from him with a hoot and a laugh, “No No, I’M on the
top if we’re in the sand. Your hairy butt can sit in gravel and
not feel it.”

“I don’t knowewwww, if you get sand up your butt and in your
pootie, I’ll have to lick it out.” He said with a sly grin.

“I don’t think I’ll need sand in either of those places to get
your tongue in them.” She said patting his package.

“Touché my darling, if we had the time I might go for the snack
pack right now. However, I have to inspect this joint, sign the
lease, and get it back to them, get you back to work and still
get lunch for us.” He said taking her hand and showing her to the
window.

“You see that deli across the way, in the TV building? If you go
down and get 2 sandwiches by the time you come back up I’ll have
the inspection done, we can eat and I’ll bring you back.”

“What about signing the lease and dropping it?”

“That’ll have to be later; I have a lawyer reading the lease
right now. It appears to be standard boilerplate, but I want to
be clear on the get-out/renew option after the 1st year. I just
want to go through here to be sure nothing is in need of dire
repair that might get put on our bill.” He told her.

“OK, I’ll get the sandwiches, . . . ummm. . . roast beef?” She
asked.

“As long as it’s rare, otherwise ham. But always swiss.”

“Oh, I know the drill, and always rye. That didn’t change in 9
years, did it?” She said as she walked out to get the elevator
down.

When Selena returned to the office she felt she had cleared her
conscience of any “guilt” over her embarrassment at being so
revered by her colleagues. The lunch she had with Joe and the
calming he made her feel put things in perspective for her.
However, whenever she looked at the blank spot on the Great Room
wall she would still get a funny feeling.

The market was just beginning to come together for Selena by the
time the market closed this session and she began to wrap up the
day, but it was far from finished. She knew she still had to do a
demo for Alexis at FNN and meet Joe to sign the lease while
there. Alexis had emailed her earlier that she was sending a car
for 4:30. She may not have thought she was making it obvious, but
Alexis had every intention of hiring Selena as a reader with only
a “fair” demo this evening. Selena hoped it was because she was
really short of readers who understood the market, and not that
she might be trying to cash in on the celebrity of her 9 year
rescue.

She heard doors opening and chatter in The Great Room as other
partners began to unwind and prepare to leave for the day when
her intercom rang.

“Ms. Johnson, are you still in?”, Deneigh asked.

“Yes, I’m just walking out, what is it?”

“There’s a woman who won’t take NO for an answer, saying you WILL
take her call. Her name is Lucille and she won’t give me any more
information, saying you would know who it was.”

“OK, Deneigh, I’ll take it. I don’t know WHY she’s being so
secretive.” Selena answered as she punched the button with the
flashing light.

“What is it roomie?” She answered smartly.

On the other end of the line Lucy burst into tears, trying to
talk and cry at the same time.

“Lucy, you’ll have to gather yourself quickly. Let’s have a cry
later. I have an appointment with a car coming RIGHT NOW. Where
are you?” Selena asked firmly.

She heard Lucy cough and choke a bit and then draw a deep breath.

“I’m in New York, at the Regency on 61st and Park, are you at the
Seasons?” She said holding back tears.

“Yes, I am, but I’m tied up until at least 7, why don’t you come
over for 7:30?” Selena said impatiently, knowing her car was due.

“I’ve GOT to see you alone first, I need to talk and explain a
few things. Can you come over here alone when you can?” She
asked.

“(sigh) Yes, Joe won’t like it, but OK! Then we both come to our
place, agreed?”

“Yes, most definitely! I want to see Joe, but I really need to
talk to you first.” Lucy said.

“Is Jeromy here as well?”

“We’ll talk when you get here.” She said abruptly and hung up the
phone on Selena.

She opened her door and said a quick goodbye to John Branniff and
Jamaica Browne who seemed to be the last 2 there. As she tucked
her brief under her arm and adjusted her coat Jamaica called out
to her.

“Selena, can I ask you a quick question?”

“Only if it’s very quick, I have a car waiting.” She said
stopping and backing towards the door.

“It’s silly, but you’ve made me so wary. The man I’ve met on the
same train every night this week has really interested me and
he’s hinted around that we should get together. He seems shy, but
he did ask for my number. I lied and told him I didn’t have one
yet.” Jamaica said blushing.

“Jamaica, don’t trust anyone. Ask him for his name and address
and then have him show you a picture ID with the same, after he’s
given you the info. If it matches we’ll check him out. Take a
different train to and from the next day. That’s what I would do.
You should find out if he’s married, divorced, out on bail, has
warrants et cetera. I hate to sound so cold, but you can read
about rapes and murders everyday in the paper. I REALLY have to
get out of here. We’ll talk tomorrow, OK, my friend?”

“I understand Selena; I trust you and few others at this point.”
Jamaica said smiling as she followed Selena out the door and saw
the limo waiting. Selena waived off the driver who began to get
out and open her door, and got in herself. The limo pulled off
and Jamaica headed up the street to her station.

She thought about the man she thought she might meet, Bill. She
had given her name as Jaye, a name she acquired in college that
stuck among her friends. Giving him the name Jamaica might make
it too easy to find her in the case she didn’t want to pursue the
relationship. Her name “Jamaica” was given her because of where
she was conceived. Her mother worked for the airlines and a short
lived affair with a pilot ended her career as an “air hostess”.
She went back to the Great Northwest where she met the man who
would serve as Jamaica’s father.  The only real disadvantage to
the name was that people always expected a black woman and had
been called into job interviews at all black companies in the
past.

She took the 4 train from the 59th Street station to Grand
Central where she picked up Metro North to Rye. Each day the trip
was almost 1 hour to the minute and the walk from the station to
her apartment was about 15 minutes. During bad weather it was a
$5.00 cab ride to her home.

The 4 train got into 59th Street station between 4:45 and 4:55
each day with Bill sitting in the 3rd car right across from the
door. He took his briefcase from the seat the last 2 days to give
her a seat. How much further he rode after her stop, she didn’t
know. She thought he was handsome and pleasant to talk to, very
helpful, but he seemed shy. Had she not asked if she were on the
correct train her first day, they may have never broken the ice.

On this day the car was crowded and, for sure Bill was getting
eyeballs and insults for “saving” a seat on the train. His face
lit up as soon as he saw “Jaye” in the queue for the train. He
took his briefcase off the seat and she sat next to him.

“Thanks Bill, you’re sweet, but don’t get beat up holding my seat
if it’s busy.” She said with a smile leaving him wonder if she
were kidding or not.

They traded pleasantries until they got to Grand Central and both
of them hustled quietly to the Metro North track as it seemed it
waited for the 4 train from Manhattan to leave.

The talk on the Metro North train got a little more personal and
after taking what seemed like a thousand big breaths, a nervous
Bill asked her his big question.

“Jaye, do you think I could take you to dinner some night this
weekend? I would really like to get to know you better. I’m not
sure if you have a steady guy or anything, but I want you to know
I would really like to see, besides on the train. That’s why I
asked for your number. I’m no stalker, you know.” He said
nervously with a chuckle.
Jamaica smiled at him, and then frowned a bit.

“That might be fun Bill, but first I have to ask you a few
questions as she pulled up her purse and opened it to get a small
note pad. What’s your full name and where do you live?”

Bill was taken aback at first but paused and said, “William
Centofranchi, 2345 Ellendale Lane in Port Chester, NY.”

He looked very nervous as she jotted down the info as he spelled
his name.

“Well, William Centofranchi, can you show me a picture ID with
the same information on it?” She asked.

“Do we really have to do this? I thought we were getting along
pretty well, you’re making the spontaneity go down the drain.
Don’t you trust me?” Bill asked.

“Bill, look around at the men on this train. If this were a bar,
how many do you think would try to buy me a drink?” Then she
leaned in and said quietly, “How many do you think would “like”
to get in my pants?”

Bill blushed wildly and sat back and lifted himself to get his
wallet, producing a New York Drivers license with the same
information he just gave her.

She looked at it closely and then asked, “Bill, are you married?”

“NO.”
“Divorced?”
“NO.”
“Been in trouble with the law, remembering, I can check this
entire thing out?”
“NO!”
“Why doesn’t handsome guy like you have a woman to go home to?”

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re interrogating me.” He said in
disbelief. “But, I suppose you can’t be too safe. I’m shy, and
I’m picky. I got burned a few times in college, so I’m careful.
Don’t think I don’t date, I do. I have a couple ladies who you
might say are, . . um . . pursuing me. I like them, but there is
something special I’m looking for and you seem to have it, I
guess.”

“Is it my looks, my red hair, the fact I’m tiny, My . . . .”

“NO, NO, none of those things, and I do think you’re very pretty.
It was the tone in your voice when you asked me for help that
day. You weren’t needy, you looked to me as a fellow human being
in this huge city. Then when you got your information you were
friendly and considerate. You wanted to be friendly. You didn’t
put up a steel curtain, like you just did, by the way, so I
couldn’t get near you.” He said with a half smile.

“This wasn’t a steel curtain Bill, this is me protecting myself.
It’s one thing to be travel pals and sharing the day’s ups and
downs, it’s another thing to invite you to my home, inside closed
doors and then go and be seen with you in public and then back to
my home, whether we went to a movie or dinner. I don’t want a guy
who’s going to be looking over his shoulder for a wife, or an
ex-wife, or the police. I want to trust you.” She said reaching
out and touching his hand, the first time she had touched him.

“My word isn’t enough? What if I want all of the same from you?”
He said, obviously peeved.

“You can have all of that, once I see who you are. Is that fair?
I WANT to take your word, but I don’t know you. Please
understand. You want to come to my door, you know what I mean,
don’t you?” She implored him.

“As much as I hate this, I suppose this is the 21st Century and
we all have to be wary, but I’ll tell you it’s taken a lot of the
excitement air out of the balloon, wanting to get to know you
better.” He said disgusted.

“Look at it this way Bill,” She said taking his hand in hers and
winking. “If I get to know you better this way, you may get to
know me better faster in other ways.”

Bill looked at her in her eyes and smiled a bit, but said, “That
is, if I think everything I learn about YOU is OK.”

“Of course, Bill. You know, I like you too, and I want to get to
know you better and hoped you might ask me out. It’s just in my
line of work there are also certain people I can’t cozy up to.
You don’t work in the financial world do you?” She asked.

“No, I’m a manager for the Postal Service, in one of the
Manhattan branches.”  He told her.

“Well, my stop is coming up so I better gather my stuff. Maybe
I’ll see you tomorrow. How come I don’t see you in the morning?”
She wondered.

“I have to be in my office by 6:00 a.m., that’s probably the
reason.” He said chuckling as she got up as the train rolled to a
stop.

“Goodnight Bill, TTFN.” She said as he got off.


Chapter 19
 When Selena got off the elevator at the TV station Joe and a
younger man in a suit were talking in front of the FNN logo on
the wall. Joe turned and extended his arms and they hugged with
Joe turning back to the other gentleman.

“Selena, I would like you to meet Seamus McHendry. He’s from
Herzog, Morris, and McHendry. Mr. McHendry, my wife, Selena.” Joe
said whisking his hand to each of them.

“Please, Seamus and Mr. McHendry are both all to formal, Call me
Sam.” McHendry said as he took her hand and clasped it between
his as a sort of handshake.

“Pleased to meet you, uh . . Sam. Is the Herzog possibly Will
Herzog?” She asked.

“Why yes it is! Do you know him?”

“I believe he represents my firm, Wall Street Global Group.”

“Of course, of course, that was the major client he brought into
the practice when we formed. When Joe said you worked for a Wall
Street concern I never imagined. I do real estate and trusts,
Will handles corporations, and Herschel Morris is our litigator.”
Sam said.

“Do you think there’s any possible conflict here?” She said
looking to Joe, but Sam cut in right away.

“No, not at all. Unless both parties benefit from a situation
because of the relationship leaving a 3rd party wanting, or a law
is broken, and that isn’t going to happen.” Sam said as Alexis
came into the room.

“Can we all sit in a meeting room and pass around the pens?”
Alexis said after a few handshakes and a hug to Selena.

“Ms. Konsantakis? No legal rep?” Sam asked.

“No, he read it over and showed me 3 things you might object to.
I’ll initial the changes and that will be it.” Alexis said with a
smile as they all sat at a table.

Alexis opened her copy and said, “I’ll go first, Page one, line
64?”

“Touché, we don’t prepay first and last, that’s for suburb
dwellers.” Sam said seeing it was legal competition as both
parties initialed.

“My turn now, Page 2 line 41?”

“Yup, that’s the one, Johnson’s don’t paint if we terminate after
a year. It’s silly anyway, it’s all new now.” Alexis said with a
chuckle as they initialed again.
“Can I give you a hint on #3?” Sam said obviously in a flirting
tone, amusing Selena knowing that Alexis was open to it.

“Page 4?” Sam added.

“Line………………..24?” Alexis teased.

“Yes, the Fox lawyer must have been a classmate of mine,  “If
EITHER party (get that word either in there and initial) does not
exercise option to terminate between the 30th and 25th day to the
end of the lease, said option is enforced.” Sam said
emphatically.

“Seamus McHendry, if you want to form a legal team someday, be
sure to call me.” Alexis said jokingly, but with a definite
serious flirt tone as she passed on her card.

Alexis’ phone rang and she just listened, her face tightening at
whatever news was being passed to her. Quickly Alexis grabbed
Selena to leave the two men talking.

“Come, I want to get you into make-up and do a read for me. We
had to do a re-write of the last update for the West Coast and
Nikki already left, maybe you can pull it off? If not, I’ll have
to do it, but I’m going out afterward and I don’t want the
make-up hassle.” Alexis said as they both rushed off.

“Whoa, Lex, this is quick, I’m not even sure if I’m going to do
this.” Selena said hesitating.

“Come on, you owe me one for the time you didn’t shoot 9/11.” She
said with a smile hoping for the favor.

“Cute, Lex. I’ll run through it and see if you think it’s
presentable.”

Selena sat in the make-up chair while the aesthetician lit her
face and worked her magic. Selena normally wore little or no
make-up, but under the bright lights, her nine year hiatus from
life might show a little. On the monitor screen she watched and
read along to herself for 3 video playbacks of the report she was
to re-do with proper changes for the later West Coast broadcast.

“Your skin is beautiful, Miss, you just need to tighten up a few
places and you’ll pass for 20 years old. See how I’ve smoothed
you out, and that was just with over the counter products.” The
middle aged woman with the Middle Eastern accent said.

“Thank you, My name is Selena, and yours?”

“Myrah. I’m here in this studio every afternoon after 4:30. If
you need me before then, I’m on the other side of the building. I
teach the make-up girls there and work the live shows.” She said
coolly, as if she had the most boring job ever.

Selena smiled and nodded and began to read the script in a low
voice, along with the video tape. After a second run through
Myrah fixed the tissue bib around her neck and turned down the
lights pointing to a director with a clipboard who seemed to be
impatiently waiting.

“This way sweetie, sit there and look right into the camera.
You’ll seem to be sitting low, the camera likes you like that.
Put your script aside, the prompter will feed it to you.” He said
as if he was bored.

“Hey! I’m NOT your sweetie and I’m here as a favor to Alexis and
FNN. I don’t need the money and I can usually find better things
to do with my time. Can we get clear on that? If not, you’ll be
reading the West Coast feed yourself. OK?” She barked at him,
getting short at his brusque treatment.

“Yes, ma’am I’m clear. Sorry, it’s been a tough day and I’ve had
to set up 6 other readers and each was as bad as the next.
Hopefully you’ll be the one, Um . . . . Miss Johnson.” He said
slightly apologetically.

Suddenly an intercom opened on the set and Alexis’ voice boomed
out loudly. “George, do we have a problem down there? I can send
you back to the all night shift.”

“No, Miss Konsantakis.” The director said rolling his eyes. “It’s
been a long day and a long line of . . . well, you heard them.”

“Let’s not lose our nice ways, OK? Ms. Johnson is a friend of FNN
and me.” She responded.

He looked at Selena and gave her a quick smile. “I’m sorry,
there’ll be better days, I promise.”

As Selena sat back down, with full crew moving on set, different
from what she thought she would do, just an audition read
through. A set manager of some sort went behind her and said
“Arms down” and took off the make-up bib Myrah had tucked on.
“Look in the camera,” He instructed as he held a light meter near
her face.

“Be cheery; be happy, you can do this, Ms Johnson. Don’t drop
your chin, face up” He said to encourage her as he walked away
and nodded to George.

George hollered for quiet and then lights and began the count as
Selena searched for her spot on the prompter. Once George pointed
to her, the words flowed like peanut butter onto warm toast,
feeling natural and remembering to be professional. At the break
for the commercial drop-in George looked at her and said
“Remember to smile big going out and coming in. Otherwise, you
might have to reshoot and . . . . 7, 6, 5,”

George’s countdown and slashing finger cued her to finish the
read, remembering to smile in and out. After she said the last
word there was a pause before George shouted out “OK, that’s a
wrap. Honey you, . . I’m sorry, Miss Johnson, please stay put
until they screen it.”

Some 5 minutes later he apparently got an OK over the headset and
told Selena she was done as he walked toward her.

“That was aces Miss Johnson, you did great. Where have you read
before?” George asked, his demeanor suddenly changing.

“Here, 9 years ago, but I never got on.” She answered.

“Well, you should have. Your producer must have had a rough day.”
George said, oblivious.

“Yeah, we all did that day.” Selena said as her voice faded.

She went back to Myrah’s chair and sat as Myrah let the back
down.

“Close your eyes, dear.” Myrah said as she brought a large white
cloth to her face.

Myrah gently used the dampened cloth to remove anything she had
put on for the camera and lights saying, “There you’ve got that
heavy stuff off and I can see your pretty face naturally. You
have very nice features. I’m going to give you a couple bottles
of cream that will tighten up a few of your worry lines. You
really have a young face if you tighten up those lines.”

“Thank you Myrah, I’ll try them.” Selena said as she got up from
the chair and saw Alexis walking toward her.

“I knew you’d be great, I want to use that for the West Coast.
You’ll sign a one day contract, won’t you? Then tomorrow we’ll
set up the agent and get you on a couple nights a week.”

“I’m leaving town for 2 weeks in a few days, we need a little
stress relief and recharge since the ordeal ended, but, OK, I’ll
do it. I’ll just have to kick George’s ass the next time he calls
me sweetie.” Selena said with a chuckle.

Alexis leaned in so only Selena would hear, “He’s actually very
good, the best director I’ve had since Manny left. He just gets
bitchy when he’s either tired or just sick of the lines of
bimbo’s we get sometimes. He’s been doing 5 or 6 auditions a day
for a week now. Between Nikki Provost, who’s been on a lot
lately, and you, I think I have a team and I’ve decided I’ll be
the backup. I’ve used the weather girl from the local Fox
affiliate once a week, but her agent doesn’t like it. I’ve worked
myself into a good gig here and I’ve wasted so much time trying
to fill this with interviews and auditions that I’ve let a few
things skate, so I’m done.
I was hired to help write copy for ALL of the news division and
financial editorial for here. Instead, they’ve got me slotted as
production assistant up here in the afternoons once the new boss
arrives. I can run this by myself, they don’t need this new guy,
but I suppose I have to earn my stripes. If I do one night a week
they’ll see I’m a team player, and if they say I’m too vital to
do that, I’ll know I’m doing a good job.”

“So, when I come back from our vacation, I’ll do 2 nights a week,
Tuesday and Thursday? Remember, I can’t get here until almost
4:45. Everything has to go right if you air it at 5:15.” Selena
reminded her.

“That’s all right. I did it that way for 7 years at least 4
nights a week and I never missed it. I did it “live” a few times,
because of no time, but we always made it.” Alexis reminded her.

“Give me the air times again.”

“At 5:15 on our financial network, it’s a drop in the 5:30 half
of the 5:00 news across the network in all time zones, but that
means it airs 3 hours later on the west coast, so if anything
happens after the markets close, we sometimes have to edit or
re-shoot. Today was the first in a long, long time.” She told
her.

“Have the agent call me at work tomorrow, but tell him I am
leaving town after the weekend for 2 weeks and I’ll see you here
on that Tuesday, OK?” Selena said as they air-kissed and she went
to find Joe.

She walked out to the elevator area and saw Joe sitting with
Seamus in the sofa under the Financial News Network and Fox
logo’s.

“You did great! We saw the playback on the monitor out here. Now,
let’s go home!”
Joe said bouncing up from the sofa to get on the elevator she had
just called.

Seamus stayed back to, presumably, meet up with Alexis.

On the elevator Joe went to kiss Selena, but she stopped him.
“You’re not going to like this.” She warned him.

“They can’t let you go to Jamaica?” He guessed.

“No! Lucy is in town and I invited her over, but, . . she wants
to see me alone first and talk, and cry and go through some
drama. Then I’ll get us both a cab back to our place.”

“Where is she?”

“At the Regency, can you drop me off? I’m so sorry Joey.”

“If she’s having a sexual crisis, remember you’re married.” Joe
said disgustedly.
“Joe Johnson! Thanks a lot for giving me credit. You’ve screwed
half of Manhattan and are alone all day long and you have the
nerve to say that!” She spat out at him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It didn’t quite come out the way I wanted
it to. I didn’t mean what you think. I meant that you’ve got a
husband at home and he wants to have dinner with  you, spend time
with you, we had a big day today; signing the lease, getting you
on TV, and your other crisis, all that.”

“I hope you know me better that THAT!” Selena said patting Joes
hand on the stick in his little blue sportster.

Joe pulled into the promenade of the Regency and Joe leaned over
to kiss her and she kissed him back, apparently forgiving his
faux pas.

“Order us something simple for dinner, a shrimp platter and maybe
that cold cut and cheese platter with the little rolls, just have
them make it for 3.” Selena said as she got out.

“Yes ma’am!” Joe said sarcastically, adding “It’s 6:45, I’ll
order it for 8 o’clock.”

“We’ll be there by then, I promise.” She said as a bellman closed
the door for her.

Selena had been through one too many heart wrenching reunions and
she wished she was passed this one. She loved Lucy, but she was
going to have to listen to all of the same clichés she and Joe
had been hearing since they were discovered. She knocked on the
door, holding her breath.

Lucy said nothing as it was obvious she had been crying in the
past few minutes, at least. She only opened her arms and let
Selena walk into them as they hugged tightly with Lucy hanging on
as if someone were trying to pull her friend away.

‘Lucy, LUCY! Please, I’m not going anywhere. Let’s calm down and
talk, OK?” She managed to say to get Lucy to let go.

Lucy grabbed tissues and finally at on the small sofa while
Selena sat across from her.

“Let’s cut all of the reunion talk and get to where I’m most
curious. Tell me about Jeromy, why he’s not here and what’s going
on.” Selena said holding Lucy’s hand.

“I can’t cry anymore about Jerry. I did something so stupid that
he may never forgive me. But it saved our marriage at the time.
Please don’t judge me! I’m going to tell you the short version,
that’s long enough, and you can ask questions later, just don’t
hate me.”

“The two years after we lost you two were terrible for both of
us. We both lost our jobs from all of the financial fallout
caused by 911 in the travel and tourist industry. Neither of us
was real happy with our jobs anyway, but they were jobs. Jerry
had been booking travel packages and selling condos through a
membership scheme, he hated when I called it that, it was all
legal, but half the people he got in wanted to get out. It was
only good if you went away 3 or 4 times a year and wanted to
travel abroad. I was editing for a concern that published Travel
and Food magazines. It sounded better than it was. I had been
hoping to get into a writing thing, but after 911, it was dead
end and they went belly up. We were both confident that we could
get new jobs and didn’t change our life style much. After a year
we were about 35K deep in credit debt, paying our car and home
loans with instant cash checks from the credit card companies and
paying the minimum payment from our unemployment and whatever we
could sell in garage sales and ebay.

I saw an ad in the paper for nude modeling and answered it
without Jer knowing. The man I met for it asked a lot of
questions and was bonkers over my body and my looks, saying they
rarely got real “class” women to answer. Finally he asked me if I
might be interested in doing adult videos, for real big money. He
told me that another sister company of theirs did adult videos
and I would be a great seller if I could perform. He made a phone
call and the next day he called me back and said that his partner
wanted to see me via Skype. He said they would give me $300 to
strip and flaunt my body for this porn company. A few hundred
would pay our minimum payments for another month, so I did it. I
went to a hotel and did everything this guy asked me to in front
of a webcam. Then he asked me questions about sex, did I like to
give head, did I swallow, did I ever do anal, did I like girls
etc. I was so embarrassed that I hated myself and when I got home
that night I almost admitted everything to Jeromy, but he was
especially down after looking for a job all day.

The next day I got a call from them and they offered to pay me 5K
to come and shoot 3 scenes with them in California, all expenses
paid. They gave me a couple days to think it over and when I
called them back I told them that 5K was great money, but I was
in deeper trouble than that and for 5K wouldn’t even nick the
problem. It was tempting but being 35K and ever rising in debt
and being 30 K and ever rising in debt were the same. They
understood, even though they begged me to come out and maybe I
could find more work then. I explained I was married and could
never explain to my husband and they understood.

After another week they called me again and asked if I would meet
them at a local hotel again. Against my better judgment I went.
Both men were there with another porn actress to explain things
to me. They told me if I could come to California and spend a
week, doing 2 or 3 scenes a day, all hard core, they would give
me 40K, all cash. It was then I realized how illegal a lot of
this was in some states. They would give me 20K up front, and
then the balance upon finishing. They told me if I skipped out
with the 20K, they would have me killed, plain and simple. I knew
they weren’t kidding around and it was obvious where the money
was coming from.”

“LUCY, you’re scaring the SHIT out of me!” Selena said as Lucy
fought off her words and begged to continue and finish.

“They said they would book everything and that they’d call me
within a month. They explained not to deposit all of the cash at
once, but to put it in the bank like $1500 a week. I did that and
after 5 weeks they called me with instructions of how to pick up
my plane tickets and what to pack and when to be there. I was
very frightened but I had already started using the money to pay
off bills so there was no backing down. I told Jer that The Toy
Co was bringing me out there for an interview. Luckily their home
office WAS out there and that all worked out, but I’ll get to
that.” Lucy said catching her breath and sitting back as she got
to the harder part of the story.

“Lucy, they gave you 20 thousand dollars after just seeing you
strip and pose?” Selena asked suspiciously.

Lucy flushed and turned away and then with all the blood rushing
from her face she admitted, “No, I had to give this guy a blowjob
on the webcam for the director in California.”

Selena clenched her fists and looked down, not able to face Lucy
as she went on with her story.

“When I got to California, a car picked me up and brought me to a
home studio up in the Malibu Hills. They gave me contacts to
change my eye color, henna tattoos, and real long extensions for
my hair, and even birthmarks where I had none, while they covered
mine. I had sex on camera for 3 or 4 hours a day for 7 straight
full days.” She said as she began to well up.

Selena was still in her clenched fist pose and about to ask a
question when Lucy put a hand up to stop her so she could finish
what was becoming very hard.

“I had sex with women, men, 2 men, straight sex, gay sex, anal
sex, oral sex, and masturbation sex with toys of all kinds.” Lucy
said trying to finish without crying.

Selena stood up before her with face turning red and fists still
clenched, she opened her hand and slapped Lucy as hard as she
could before exploding.

“You stupid, stupid woman! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? You could have
easily gone to my parents and borrowed the money and if you never
paid it back they would not have cared. They knew what you meant
to me! I cannot fucking believe you let your body be used like
that! You were a prostitute! Obviously Jeromy found out, he . . .
. .”

“STOP, I don’t need you to hate me too! If Jeromy had slapped me
like that I would have felt better about the whole thing. That
fucking hurt, but I had it coming. Please sit down and listen to
me.” Lucy said holding her face and fighting back tears of pain.

“You would barely know it was me in the videos, with the tattoos,
the birthmarks, the hair, and eyes, it was all deniable. They
gave me the name Caren Swallow and the video series was a hit for
them, releasing 7 movies over almost 4 years, but I got no
residuals. But they released 7 features with me and some big name
male star as the leads. Three years later Jeromy was none the
wiser until a couple we know was having a good laugh over some
porn star told Jer looked like me. They brought a video over one
night and we all watched it together, having a good laugh. I
tried not to act embarrassed and thought I pulled it off.
I went to bed later and Jeromy stayed up. When I got up in the
morning he said he wanted to show me something and turned on the
TV. He was playing the video and where the character gets up to
go join her boyfriend in the shower she’s wearing a Magic
Mountain super large t-shirt as a night shirt. Jerry had used a
laundry pen to make a shirt I had say Magic Mountains, adding the
S, with arrows on each side pointing to my boobs, I wore that
shirt of my own, the one he made, in the scene without thinking.
The date of the production was at the end and he compared it to
the time 3 years earlier when I went to California. He never gave
me a chance to deny and didn’t care that it solved all our money
problems. I did GET a job with The Toy Co. as a warehouse manager
back here, but he had to know I wasn’t making THAT kind of money.
He said we would talk when he came home that night. When I came
home from work, he and all of his stuff were gone. He had written
WHORE on every picture of me in the house and on all of the
mirrors.”

“So where is he now? Have you seen him, tried to reconcile at
all?” Selena asked.

“I never really know where he is. He answers my emails, says he
still loves me, but he hasn’t finished punishing me yet. If he
finds I’ve had sex with any man or woman or have a relationship
with another man or any woman, he will tell all of our friends
about my porn career. So I never know if he’s close by, or if
anyone who hits on me is sent by him. I only know he works in
advertising representing some huge companies and sells and
promotes with TV people.” She said still rubbing her face where
the imprint of Selena’s hand was fading.

“So you’re still a warehouse manager for them?”

“No, I’m the National Merchandise Manager. I have a team of
buyers working for me and make huge money, like I never thought I
was capable of. Not one, and I mean NOT ONE PERSON ever saw those
videos and thought it was me. A guy on my team once said he saw a
porno with a girl who looked like a young skanky version of me,
even asking me to show him tattoos I might have. I proved I
didn’t have any where he thought and that was the end of it.” She
said actually holding her head up proud of what she had
accomplished.

“So, legally, you’re still married. He hasn’t strayed, as far as
you know?”

“When I ask him he says that I’m the only adulterer in our
marriage.”

“So how long is he going to keep this up?”

“I don’t know, but if he knows I’m in New York and seeing you
two, and I bet he does, he might show his face. When he heard
about you and Joe walking away and recovering, he added
confessing to you as another provision of my punishment. I don’t
have to tell Joe, but he knows you will. That email showed he was
softening on his stance with me. I haven’t seen him since the
week before Thanksgiving 2007. Almost 3 whole years. It seems he
once wrote that 4 years may be his punishment time for me. He
says he loves me and can forgive me, but maybe never trust me,
fully. I can live with that, if he would just come back to me.”
Lucy said, beginning to cry once again.

“Do you think he’s been true to you?”

“He says he has, that he’s not an adulterer whore like me. I told
him I could never love him if he continued to call me a whore. I
made a mistake, a mistake that seemed like a savior for us at the
time, and it did help us. I still feel, in many ways, that I made
a sacrifice for the good of us as a couple. I could have done it
differently, but what’s done is done, and I still love him, miss
him, and want to see him.” Lucy said through her tears before she
let the floodgates open and bawled uncontrollably for a moment
before looking up to Selena to say, “He says he jerks off to my
video’s, that’s how he’s been true to me. Somehow that makes me
sick to think of him watching me with other men.”

“How often do you hear from him?” Selena asked.

“Almost every day now, we send an email back and forth. It used
to be once a week, but now it’s all the time. Even when I don’t
tell him, he knows where I am. I don’t know how, but he does.
That’s why I know he’s probably in New York right now. God,
Selena, I miss him and love him so much, but I want to beat the
shit out of him for doing this to me. I mean, the reason I’ve
probably been so successful at my job is because I know he’s
checking on me all of the time and I really love what I do. We’ve
never been so profitable, even in this shit economy, and I’ve
instituted a lot of buying measures for certain areas and
pinpointed advertising. If they ever move the CEO, or he quits or
retires, I’ve got a real shot at it.” Lucy said perking up and
suddenly showing pride and self confidence.

“Lucy, you said you made huge money. Just how much are you
pulling down, if you don’t mind me asking?” Selena wondered
aloud.

“I make around 300K and another 150K in incentives. We retailed
about 750 Million last year with a final profit goal of 3.5
percent. We hit 6 last year. I get offers from other companies
all the time, but I make enough and I’m happy, so I don’t even
listen to the talk.” She said proudly sitting up seeming to
become another, more confident person as she told her friend of
her success.

“So if Jeromy comes back today, just what do you say to him?”

“I tell him I’m sorry for deceiving him, I’m sorry for selling
something that should never be sold. But I do remind him that the
3 years following the influx of cash it provided were the
happiest years of our marriage after all the failings we had, 
post 911. The pressure came off our relationship as we crawled
out of debt and we began to enjoy life. I was able to put all the
sins I committed in a neat compartment and never show guilt or
remorse for it because of all the good it did for us. If faced
with the same situation again, knowing how much I hurt him by
deceiving him I would never do it, unless he told me I should.
I’m not going to lie and tell him I hate myself for doing it,
because as much as I try to, doing it was the key to all the
success I have right now, except that I lost him over it. If he
told me he wanted a divorce and wanted someone else, I would hate
myself in retrospect. I know that’s all confusing and hard to
swallow, but you know I’ve always been a bit flighty at times,
except for one thing, Jeromy is all I ever wanted in a man, he is
my soul mate and I can’t live without him. Even if it’s just
through his emails, at least I have him. But, I’m not jumping
through any more hoops for him. I’ve done everything I can to
prove how much I love him and want him back. Really soon I will
give him an ultimatum, we live the rest of our lives through
email or he comes back by a certain day. I have to know what the
final story is.”


“OK”, Selena said looking at her watch, “It’s 20 minutes till 8
and dinner is being delivered at our suite at 8, and you’re
coming. You haven’t eaten yet have you?”

“No, I’ve paced the floors waiting for you to show up. A bite or
two would be great.”

“Well, get dressed, Joe is waiting to see you. Call downstairs
and get us a cab and tell them we’re just going to the Four
Seasons, they’ll probably offer the shuttle.” She told Lucy as
she looked for the bath to freshen up.

Chapter 20

The Recency Shuttle pulled into the Four Season Promenade almost
exactly at 8 pm. Room service was just leaving the room as Selena
and Lucy arrived. Lucy jumped into Joe’s arms and they both had
their emotional reunion before Selena whined that the food was
there and she was hungry.

They engaged in small talk and then talk of Lucy’s career over
dinner and wine. To each of them if felt like old times, another
one of those moments where the 9 year lapse seemed a lost second
in a random minute. Each of them sat back feeling stuffed as Joe
reached back and turned on the coffee maker.

“Wow, I’ll have to visit the necessary room before I eat or drink
another drop. I’ve been putting it off since we sat to eat, but
it all looked so good.” Lucy said as she pushed away the stool
she occupied at the kitchen nook.

When Joe heard the heavy bathroom door click shut, he looked to
Selena and said, “I don’t know the whole story, but you’ll have
to fill me in. Jeromy called while you were over there and said
there was a long sordid tale you had to tell me, but I wasn’t to
say a word about him calling. He just wanted me to know that
everything was fine with him and he thought all would be fine
with the two of them, but it was a long, complicated, and
embarrassing tale and that tomorrow he hoped everything would be
back to normal and not to ask about it ever again. I can’t begin
to tell you how confused I am. One more thing, who slapped Lucy?
When she stepped under the light here I saw a handprint she tried
to cover.”

“I did, and you’ll find out why soon enough. So Jeromy is going
to be with her tonight?” She asked.

“Yes, he said he would knock on her door as soon as she got back
from here. Get this, he was at Fox FNN studio the other night and
saw you do the report. He was doing an ad contract and saw you on
the monitor in the office. OK, mums the word, . .  I just heard
her flush.” Joe said quieting his voice as he anticipated the
bathroom door opening.

“Not that this evening hasn’t been a pleasure, seeing you both,”
Lucy said as she came into the room, “But I’m going to call a cab
and get back. I was up this morning at 5 to catch the flight here
and I’m about ready to drop.”

Joe sprung up and told her to put her phone away and he would
take care of it as Lucy sat down with Selena and held hands with
her.

“So what are your plans for the next few days?” She asked Selena.

“I can barely keep track of the days right now. Tomorrow I have
to begin to tie up things because we leave for vacation next
Thursday right after Thanksgiving dinner with Joseph and Shanna.
I know that sounds a week away, and it is, but Saturday we move
to our condo here in the city, Sunday we drive back upstate and
pack for vacation. Monday we do our Thanksgiving with my parents
and getting things square for us to leave. Tuesday morning I’m
back at Wall Street for two days to map out some direction for a
few things. Oh God, I haven’t even told you all that’s going on
there, but let’s just say I’m up to my ass. Call me tomorrow.”
Selena said trying to keep everything in short version format so
Lucy would leave and get her surprise visit from Jeromy.


A knock came to the door and when Joe opened it there was a
bellman.

“Good evening Mr. Johnson, you have a guest who needs transport
to the Regency?”

“Yes, she’s right here.”

“Any bags to transfer?”

“No, it will just be Ms. Bonacre.” Joe said.

“Joe, although we aren’t together right now, I still use Fillion.
We’re still married.” Lucy said after hugging Selena and kissing
Joe goodnight.


The door clicked shut and Selena faced Joe. “Does Jeromy think
he’s going to walk in and rule the roost over her? If so, she has
a few things to lay on him. He thinks he’s punished her, but he’s
also given her lots of time to think.”

“You’re going to have to fill me in on this whole thing, because
I am so confused over what they split over and why he’s coming
back after so long.” Joe said shrugging his shoulders.

Although tired herself, Selena proceeded to tell Joe the whole
story as she knew it after asking Joe not to question her until
she was through. She was hoping to answer the morality questions
in bed, where she wanted to be more than anything.

After hearing what she knew Joe kept up his end of the agreement
and went through the apartment straightening, cleaning, and
putting away, as they did every night before they went down. She
finished her night time ministrations first and he joined her in
bed not knowing what to ask her first.

“What do you think of her reasoning as to WHY she did it?” Joe
asked cautiously, knowing he had his idea already.

“THAT’S where she got the slap across the face! For being a whore
who need only ask my parents for the money to get themselves
right.” Selena said ready to defend herself.

“That she so easily sold herself for money, and a good sum of
money, bothers me too. Surely she knew that if we were available
we would have helped her, but if the fact your parents never
crossed her mind, she wasn’t thinking straight.” Joe said in
agreement.

“Think of the fact that after she got the first 20K they
threatened to kill her if she skipped out. How did she know they
wouldn’t kill her anyway? I mean she had plenty of time to tell
someone about it all, but she played with fire.” Selena said
sitting right up in bed to turn to Joe to make her point.
“Obviously these people are mob connected!”

“How does she feel about it besides shame?”

“Well, this is where her thought process bothers me, and it may
bother Jeromy if she tells him. After their bills were paid up
and she DID get a job with The Toy Co while out there, Jeromy
found work and she said the next three years were the happiest
years they had as a couple. She figures if he never saw the video
and figured out what happened they would be no worse for the
wear. She was able to totally put the whole thing out of her mind
as something she had to do to make things right for them. The
guilt he made her feel after finding out is the only guilt she
feels. Plus, I can tell you that if he comes back with an
attitude of her being a whore and a cheater, she won’t have him
until he respects her. She didn’t say that in as many words, but
I know her well enough to read the writing on the wall in her
tone.” Selena said bringing her knees up to lean on and speak to
Joe.

“She feels like she carried the heavy load to get them out of
debt, no matter what it took?” Joe surmised.

“For sure.”

“So how’s the toy job working for her now?”

“Wait until you hear this. She’s the National Merchandise Manager
for them and has a team of buyers working for her, like she never
thought she was capable of. She makes around 300K plus another
150K in incentives. They retailed about 750 Million last year
with a final profit goal of 3.5 percent and her strategies netted
them a full 6 percent. They love her and she gets offers all the
time.”

“I’m impressed. All of that, plus she’s still a very attractive
woman, who I am sure gets hit on all of the time. I mean, I more
than noticed that the years had been very kind to her.” Joe said,
knowing it might get a reaction from Selena.

“She would probably hurt you, old man. Why do you think I take it
so easy on you?” She said steeling her face to hide the smile she
wanted to show.

Joe saw the grin hiding but played along saying, “And I thank you
for that so I have more strength for my concubines I have during
the day.”

“If I thought there was a whisper of a chance of that, your balls
would be the knocker on the door.” She smiled.

“Don’t think I don’t know that.” Joe said firmly, knowingly.

“I love you, AND, I see my gyno tomorrow at lunch time. There’s a
pharmacy right in his building. You’ll be able to splash my
ovaries by the time we get to Jamaica on Thursday.” She said
before she leaned to him and kissed him on the forehead, the top
of her pajama shirt opening enough for one breast to fall halfway
out.

Joe caught the nipple in his mouth before she could back away,
and she groaned.

“Ooooo, you know what I like!” She squealed as she opened one
more button and leaned back to offer him more.

“Fuck Joey, you’re making my pussy run like crazy.”

“You can feed that to me too!” He said as he switched nipples and
chewed the other bud.

Selena shuddered and pulled back from Joe throwing down her
covers and sliding her bottoms off before bouncing up and
straddling Joe’s face. His tongue wiped her lips clean of any
fresh dew as she reached down and stroked his temples while
cooing loudly.

“GOD GOLLY, you suck my clittie so well! Eat it baby, eat it!”
She demanded as Joe went to town licking her, satisfying her.

His tongue was up her quim as far as he could force it when she
began to bear down on him and start an orgasm that piqued quickly
causing her to want to retreat but Joe’s hands came up and
gripped the firm halves of her butt and kept her at his mercy for
another 10 or 15 seconds before he could hold her no more.

“AHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!” She hollered uncharacteristically
loudly, usually trying to keep the noise down at night as she
rolled almost over straight back.

Joe licked his lips and chuckled at the ruckus she had caused,
always surprised at the intensity of her orgasms.

“Are you OK, my pet?” He said in a craggy old man voice, “I tried
to take it easy on you, being the OLD MAN that I am.” Getting
back at her jibe from just before.

“Holy sweet shit! I thought I was going to have the big one
there!” She said giggling and still at a loss of breath.

“Bring that delicious penis to me down here, I can’t move.” She
whispered.

Joe was already up and kneeling beside her.
“I’m right here Essy, is this what you want?” He said holding his
half staff manhood in his hand.

She smiled her sexiest smile and made a kissing motion with her
lips.

Joe moved and straddled a leg over her, his knees almost in her
arm pits, leaving the tip of his cock just inches from her lips.

“Feed me, then fuck my mouth; let me feel you run over my
tongue.”

Joe’s cock jumped at her words as he leaned up and put the tip in
her reach. She clasped her lips over it and teased in around and
around as he rose to full staff.. When he could take no more
teasing tongue lolling he fell forward a bit and let his dick
slide half way into her mouth. She closed her eyes and hummed a
loud approval as her mouth hollowed and sucked him. Her hands
grasped his butt halves and pulled him toward her mouth, deeper
inside. Joe knew what she wanted as he began to gently move in
and out of her mouth, while she sucked and busily moved and
worked her tongue and cheeks.

Joe’s breathing quickly became stilted and they both knew he was
getting close, fast. The excitement of seeing her in full
orgasmic regalia certainly helped in having him ready, but giving
up her mouth to satisfy him like this was always a favorite of
his, from his pre-Selena days. Although then, when he did it,
this was showing him what a whore his partner was, willing to
have her mouth fucked as if it were a pussy. But here, he saw it
as a supreme act of love.

“I’m going to cum, lover!” He warned her if she didn’t want to
possible choke on his eruption.

But as he slowed his movement in her mouth she lifted her mouth
to get deeper on him.

“Ahhhhhhh!” He wailed as he spurt in her mouth and she worked her
mouth tightly over him as she swallowed.

“Ohhhhh Goddddd, you’re so amazing!” He cried out as she
continued swallowing hard, gulps he could hear.

He stopped moving and she continued to tease the tip of his prick
as little streams of semen still trailed off onto her tongue.
When the salty-sweet taste stopped she kissed the tip and moved
her mouth away to smile at Joe.

“That was so sexy, so wonderful. You came so hard and so fast.
Something must have got you going. I can’t imagine what.” She
said devilishly with a giggle.

A few big city blocks away Lucy was walking up the hall to her
suite. She had to get some final sales figures for her meeting
Friday and then get to bed. Being with Selena and Joe had got her
juices going and her pussy was already running wet, knowing her
panties were soaked whenever the cold wet silk pressed to her.

In the back of her mind she was deciding what fantasy she would
run through her mind as she played tonight. She already decided
on her Blue Devil Double as the toy of choice. It had an 8 inch
beaded prong that went up her rear hole and a thin, but wide
dilly that went up her snatch. She had fallen asleep with that in
her on more than one occasion.

Most of her fantasies were of Jeromy and never of any of the men,
or women, she had sex with in her 7 days in the adult video
industry. Although she didn’t have to fake orgasms in that week,
she actually felt no bond whatsoever for any of the people she
worked with. In her mind it was simply work and she never had a
wish or fantasy for anyone she was with then.

As she finalized the sales figures for her presentation she noted
that the top DC (distribution center) in the Northeast was the
one in Portland, Maine. When she saw the word MAINE, she
instantly thought of her first real love, Phineas, who took her
oral virginity one summer up there. She often recalled the night
when he became the first man she had ever tasted. Not just his
penis, but his semen too. That night was so beautiful to her, she
relived it each time she went down on her partner, and there had
been lots whom she had tasted. That would be the fantasy she
would relive as she pleasured herself tonight.

She closed up her computer, chained the door, put out her clothes
for Friday, and slipped into a small teddy that didn’t close at
the crotch if you didn’t please to. It was satin and when it
touched her nipples the coolness perked her buds and started the
waterworks below. She took her toy of the night out of her
suitcase and the little tube of KY she kept and set the toy in
the bed she had just pulled back. She hurried like an excited
school girl to the toilet and voided her bladder, carefully
wiping herself dry, on the outside at least. She squeezed a
dollop of KY on her index and middle finger and reached under
herself as the toilet provided a good opportunity to access her
tight asshole. She wiped the fingers over her little crater,
using her middle finger to rub around it and then push in,
causing her to shudder, but she kept pushing the KY in until she
was satisfied she was ready.

She wiped her fingers clean and then washed her hands carefully
to be sanitary. She was ready for a hot sexy send-off into
slumber-land. She had just placed a knee on the bed to slide into
the sheets when there was a loud knock on the door.

“Fuck!” She thought to herself, “Who could THAT be? It’s too late
for turn-down service and unless I checked the wrong box, I only
ordered room service coffee for the morning.”

She slipped on her nightgown and went to the door to peek through
the peep-hole.

“Jeromy!” She shouted through the door ready to whisk it open,
but she stopped.

“What are you doing here?” She asked through the door.

“I’m your HUSBAND, remember?” He said sarcastically.

“My husband wouldn’t have ran off on me for three years without
so much as a chance to talk and defend myself for something I
did.” She said, starting to well up.

“Consider WHAT she did!” He answered.

“She sacrificed her morals and her promise of fidelity in order
to save our floundering marriage. The 3 years after I did it were
the happiest days we had. I hated what I did, but it fixed us, it
fixed everything. I can go through life without thinking about it
for one second, it meant nothing to me. The only thing I can’t do
is go through life without you. But if you throw this up in my
face all of the time and call me a whore then don’t bother coming
back. That’s not the man I married.” She said taking her stance
through the door.

“You don’t think you did anything wrong?” He asked.

“Yes, I did. I said I was sorry to you more times than I can
count. But, you have to understand that I couldn’t feel guilty
living with that secret because of all of the good it did for us.
A man runs back into a burning building to save his wife, or his
child. He’s putting everything on the line because he loves them
and being without them will hurt more than the heat of the fire.
If you can’t accept that, and I’m not asking you to like it, just
accept that, then we shouldn’t be together.” She said crying.

“Open the door Lucy!” Jeromy said crying. “I can’t go another
second without you. I was supposed to be punishing you, and I was
punishing myself. I want to be your husband and pick the pieces.
Please Luce!” He begged.

Lucy undid the chain and slowly opened the door. Jeromy stood
there with tears running down his face as if he had been beaten
in a fight.

“Please accept me back and I will accept you back. We were both
stupid in so many ways. I let my ego get in the way of common
sense. May I come in?” Jeromy asked as a beaten man, a man who
had beaten himself into a corner thinking he had the upper hand.

He suddenly realized she had to take him back and all of the male
bravado in the world wasn’t going to change that.

Lucy opened the door and Jeromy took one step in and she jumped
in his arms, holding him tightly, her head resting on his
shoulder. “There was never a question as to whether I loved you.”
Jeromy said. “I was just hurt, and over time I hurt more knowing
that you took it upon yourself more than any other reason. I’m
sorry I was so mean to you and I’ve played this stupid game.”

“Let tomorrow be the next day. Let’s just put it all away. I love
you and want to enjoy the rest of my life with you.” Lucy said.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” Jeromy asked.

“You’ll just have to kick my lover out of bed.” Lucy kidded as
she pulled him by the hand to the bedroom, her Blue Devil Double
on the pillow.

“Oh, sorry to interrupt you. Were you that involved, or had you
just finished drinks?” He kidded.

“Ummm, I have KY melting and running out of my butt. We were way
past drinks.” She giggled.

“I have to shower. Carry on and I’ll catch up to you.” Jeromy
said kissing Lucy and patting her on her butt.

Jeromy was so glad to have gotten things off of his chest and to
have seen and held Lucy again he rushed through his shower just
washing his hair, genitals and read end. As he dried he heard
soft moans from the other room and when he opened the bathroom
door its ambient light lit the bed where Lucy lay.

The athletic Lucy was there with both legs bent up and a hand
working the Blue Devil feverishly in and out of her pussy and
asshole while her other hand pinched and squeezed her nipples.

“That’s my kinky baby! You couldn’t wait for me?” He asked as her
face had turned white while trying to shake her head “no”, but
she was too deep in orgasm to respond.

The sight before him brought his lonely cock to quick attention,
watching her deep in orgasm and her body seeming to just quiver
as if being shocked electrically, except her hand plunging the
toy in and out of her holes. He grasped his suddenly aching cock
thinking he might take the toy away and finish her, but she
seemed too deep into what was happening. Her eyes though, were
now glued to his cock, as she pursed her lips toward him.

He knelt on the edge on the bed and scooted beside her face where
she was craning her neck to get close to his cock. One final move
of his put it right into her mouth, her lips went over him taking
him deep, but she was so involved otherwise her neck movements
were jerky and uncoordinated.  While on one knee he brought his
other foot to rest on the other side of her pillow where he could
thrust at her mouth.

She sucked hungrily at him as he moved in and out of her mouth as
her own body was peppered with her own orgasms. It had been so
long for Jeromy that he wasn’t going to last more than a couple
minutes and he wasn’t going to do anything to delay his end.

Jeromy groaned from deep inside his gut. He hadn’t gotten himself
off in almost a month, waiting for the right time to reunite with
Lucy. He had hoped to deposit his pent up “load” in the
conventional way, but seeing her pleasuring herself with so much
gusto had him ready in a few minutes. He pulsed 3 volleys of
pre-cum and semen into her mouth before she began to let it flow
out, not being able to swallow that fast as it interrupted her
own orgasm. She coughed once around his fat cock and began to
swallow what else he was ejaculating as she quit her own play and
brought her hands up to stroke him and playfully squeeze his
balls.

“Whoa, THAT was a surprise. I didn’t expect you to let me
continue diddling around, but obviously the visual was a welcome
sight for you!” She said laughing and wiping cum from her chin
and neck.

“I planned on filling you with cum, but this was spontaneous, and
wonderful, I might add.” He said slumping back onto his haunches.

“Let me turn the pillow over so we can sleep. Tomorrow is for
fucking and talking. I’m so tired, just let me fall asleep
holding you.” She said, almost groggily.

“How about less talk, more fucking. We have to get back to where
we were before we both screwed things up. I don’t want to discuss
it anymore, just get back to us being, . . US!”  Jeromy said as
he too was ready to drop.

Chapter 21

Friday morning was a hectic time for Selena as she struggled to
make time for everything she had allowed to get on her plate.
Tomorrow was move day, but today was her next to last day at WSGG
for 2 weeks and she wanted to be sure all was running smoothly
before she left. She would be there Tuesday and Wednesday
mornings, but that time would be clearing commitments she had
already compiled. She was going to use web cast to pipe into the
Sunday Night Letter Meeting from their home Upstate, but she
still felt uncomfortable leaving so soon after asserting herself
so forcefully. However, she felt sure that she had righted the
ship sufficiently that everyone has renewed vitality toward their
goals.

She hadn’t forgotten Jamaica and the first chance she had to slip
into her office she did.

“So, did you confront your gentleman caller with a request for
information?” She asked.

Jamaica blushed, “Yes, I did. I felt a little funny, like I was
interrogating someone, but the more I got into it, the more I
understood why it was necessary. I really had no info on him at
all, and really didn’t know WHO he was. He was insulted a bit at
first, but as my questions went on, he seemed to understand more.
He challenged me to give him the same information and I told him
he was certainly entitled and he would get it as soon as I
checked him out.” She said as she handed Selena the notes she had
taken on her “Bill”, one William Centofranchi.

“Let me take this and get back to you later on. I’ll be sure to
get to it before you leave today, just I have so many loose ends
to tie up, please be patient with me.” Selena said as she took
the notes and slipped out and into her office.

Selena requested “no calls” for a half hour so as to tweak the
many irons she had in the fire before she left for her
Thanksgiving and vacation. As she made notes for her contribution
to the Saturday Night Letter she kept looking away at the
jottings Jamaica had made about her man interest. Finally her
interest was piqued to distraction and she pushed aside her
business notes and dug into the information Jamaica had given
her.

Bill Centofranchi was just as he presented himself. He was a
career employee of the USPS, a supervisor or manager of a
downtown facility. He had no criminal record, not even a traffic
ticket. He had never been married, had no debt, and owned his own
home. He did not have a passport, was a member of The Elks and
served 4 years in the Army as a supply coordinator and
facilitator during the first Gulf War. He was 32 years old. He
had worked 2 years as a sort clerk at The Post Office before he
asked for a leave to join the Army after 911. After he returned
in 2005 he was put into a management training program that rushed
his career along. If he had skeletons in his closet, they were
well hidden. He didn’t appear to have Facebook or Twitter
accounts; however, his name came up repeatedly in the Facebook
pages of 2 Long Island women. He appeared to be a very
conservative man with few interests outside of work, who
apparently had spent ski and beach weekends with 2 particular
women who lived or worked nearby. With all of the resources
Selena had at hand to ferret out dirt on someone, he appeared to
be a very safe, and good, catch for any woman.

Once she was satisfied she had done her due diligence for Ms
Browne she picked up her intercom and rang Ross Curran.

“Ross, do you have a moment? I’d like a private word.”

“Anytime Selena. I’m free at the moment.” He answered.

Before she could do another thing she pushed herself from her
desk and, leaving the privacy light on her office lit, she closed
the door and knocked lightly on Ross’s door and went in.

“Ross, ease my mind that while I’m away you’ll take a new
interest in Ms. Browne and be sure she is aware that we are
keeping tabs on her. Her epiphany has brought her back to what
you thought was advertised, but I have been very heavy handed
with her and tried to be a confidante, with her still knowing I
am her superior. If she slips up again I will encourage a NO vote
on her partnership, even knowing how much it will cost us. I just
can’t babysit with her while trying to get back into my own
groove.” Selena said while doing her best not to sound too self
important.

“My dear, I can assure you that I was truly embarrassed by her
whole situation that WE let get out of hand. Her manipulation of
the core here was no accident and we know what she is capable of.
I agree that one slip of that renewing would mean she could never
be trusted. I will be sure that each of us sees her daily to
continue to encourage her.” Ross said confidently.

“I can tell you that she IS a good person, and every bit the
intellectual commodity you thought you were cultivating. She fell
victim to this city, and we all know how easy that is to happen.
When I brought all of that to a grinding halt I really think she
wanted to be saved from the runaway train she was riding. I just
don’t want to see her slide backwards. She may be entering a
relationship and that will certainly center her. Also, let’s get
her fully involved in the Sunday Night Letter.” Selena added.

Ross smiled and looked for a paper on his desk and held it up.
“Great minds think alike, I have an assignment for her right
here. I’m asking her to write a profile of herself and to explain
her financial philosophies. I’ve written a preface for her that
explains to our subscribers that she may be joining our team as a
partner and that she has already made contributions to our member
base. You see Selena, this transition to the team was easy for
you, and you’re an old soul inside, your values, beliefs, like
that. She is like a Facebook version of you, using the new media
and technologies to color her thoughts. Now, this is not a bad
thing. We NEED that kind of thinking and I believe she could
influence others here in many ways. She just needs to establish
the trust. She schemed, and that was bad.”

“I think you have to stop right there Ross.” Selena said, trying
to think ahead of Ross. “I will back her and support her 100%.
What she did before was a by-product of the drugs and alcohol in
her system. They made her a desperate person. She, on her own,
sought out help on a website called “Are you Dependant?” Wanting
to help yourself is a great sign and it, the site, humbled and
shamed her greatly. It shook her from who she was to who she
really is. Her pride and ego were smashed by what she found out.
Instead of making a cry of woe is me, she battled hard to show me
who she really was. I believe in her, but I also believe that she
is close enough to her turnaround that she should be monitored.”

“Selena, in your absence I will be sure to run things as I have
in the past and you might in the future.” Ross began. “Having you
to lift the yoke from me of the organization and leadership of
this group has freed my mind in many ways that will help our
cause. Just keep in mind that this position is neither voted on
or to be appointed to. I know I led you into it, but you saw how
easy the others let you cede the power. You earned that long ago,
and in just these few days lived up to the reputation, I should
say, the legacy, you had here. I know you saw the portrait and
script with it and it embarrassed you, as well as humbled you to
tears. I don’t miss much here. Just know that our love and
respect for you was, and is, sincere.  Having you snuffed out so
cruelly let us know how much we missed and depended on you,
knowing how much of the future we would lose without you. We had
lost some direction and when you walked in the door this week it
was like everything was back on track. It was then I realized
that you held the direction of the firm in your hands.”

Selena fought hard to hold her emotions back during Ross’s words,
but she could no longer hide her tears and trembling lower lip.
Through a broken voice and thinning ability to make words come
out, Selena said, “Ross, you have no idea what it was to be where
I was, to have everything trapped inside me, and to be here
before you like this hearing your words. Even my Joe . . . . . .”


Her tears and emotion caused her to stop and Ross Curran stood
and went to her chair and knelt beside it on one knee to put an
arm around her and comfort her.

“Let your emotions flow, it’s the best thing. You don’t need to
put it in words, I understand much more than you think. I’ve
smelled the burning flesh of the fires of hell captured in
Vietnam and wondered what my own would smell like when my time
came. A moment later I was wrapped in a tarp, thrown into a
helicopter and before my mind could separate reality, torture,
and who’s control I was under. Rescued, I was on my way home.”
Ross told her as his own emotions began to get the best of him.

The two cried together before they began to compose themselves
and look at each other.

Ross finally spoke. “You get out of here today, enjoy a true
Thanksgiving, and enjoy your trip to your paradise in Jamaica.”


“Oh, I will enjoy, you can be sure of that. Another thing you can
also be sure of, whether it’s me at the helm, or any one of us
under this roof today, this firm will always respect the
standards that you and the others who founded it have stood on.
No one person or any one event will ever change that.” Selena
assured him.

“I know that. Why do you think I’ve chosen you to hand the reins
too?” Ross said with a smile.

Selena stood and hugged him, then kissed his cheek and wiped away
a tear he had left. She quietly went back to her office where her
intercom just began to ring.

“Ms. Johnson?” Deneigh asked and waited for Selena to acknowledge
her.

“Yes, Deneigh.”

“That’s 30 minutes no calls, do you need more time?”

“No, that was sufficient. Do I have any calls to return?”

“Yes, Alexis Konsantakis would like to you to call her ASAP.
Also a message from an admin-assistant at The Toy Company calling
for Lucille?
She had your private number so I assume you know her. Simply, the
message is “All is fine”. I have the call back number for Ms.
Konsantakis, would you like me to try her?”
Deneigh asked.

“No, I can get it. Deneigh, make sure you call the agency and
begin to find the replacement for you. I want you on this side of
the door by Spring. Let’s not put it off any longer. Understood?”
Selena said firmly hoping she might finally stop procrastinating
on the task.

“Yes, Ms Johnson.” Deneigh answered in quiet resignation that
this step had to be taken to move forward in her career.

Alexis Konsantakis phoned barely rang once when she answered
frantically.

“Oh, thank God you called! I’d forgotten the agent for the Fox
Weathergirl is the same one I set you up with. He signed you to a
7 day deal until you can meet with him in person, and then he
informs me that his Fox client will no longer do it for me and
she is scheduled for tonight. This is a huge favor, I know you’re
moving and getting ready to go on vacation, but . . . . please,
please, please??”

“Stop begging for God’s sake, Lexie! Why don’t YOU just do it?”
Selena said, peeved she was called on for a “one time” type favor
twice in two days.

Alexis sighed loudly before she spoke. “I’ll tell you the blunt
truth. If I do it, by the time I get make-up off and shower I’ll
miss a date I set up for tonight. It’s more of a booty call than
a date. I’ve flirted with this producer, and he with me, for the
past 2 weeks and he’s going west until the new year on the
red-eye tonight. I haven’t been good and laid in a few months and
I’m soaked just thinking about it. Is that honest enough?”

“Holy crap Alexis, you don’t hold anything back, do you? If
that’s the case, I’ll do it, but you owe me big time. I’ll be
there as soon as I get out of here tonight. God, do change your
panties, you’ll have dogs humping your leg if you go out like
that.” Selena said with a chuckle as she hung up.


She smiled to herself as she dropped Joe an email to his phone so
he knew she would be a few minutes late. She gathered her
information on Bill Centofranchi and went to Jamaica Browne’s
office and knocked before entering.

“I would say this guy may be a real good catch. Seems to be very
stable, ethical, and hard working. That’s not to say he won’t
want to dress in leather and thrash you with a buggy whip, but
there’s no way to find that stuff out, but I’m guessing that’s
low risk. You’ve done your due diligence and now you just have to
go slow and be careful. I’m guessing he wants a relationship, not
a roll in the hay. It looks like he has a couple prospects
pursuing him for that, but he doesn’t seem to want to commit to
either. I got that from Facebook entries.”

“You can get into Facebook accounts without friending?” Jamaica
asked astonishingly.

“In our business there are a few go-arounds we can use for
investigative purposes. I can make myself anyone’s friend. It’s
an old divorce lawyer’s trick. Not ethical, but we’re talking
lawyers here. I just picked it up, there was no Facebook when I
left before.” Selena said, not wanting to say anymore.

Jamaica thanked Selena for her help and floated on air the rest
of the day with the prospect of dating Bill. It was the first
time she had been attracted to a man where sex wasn’t the main
attraction. He was older, and seemed worldly, but mostly honest.
She really felt that what he projected was the real deal. She
only hoped he was still interested after her “questioning”. She
looked forward to her ride home that night.

Selena still felt she was getting up to speed with the markets
and hoped to spend the afternoon in study of trends of major
stocks, oil, silver, and gold. She felt learning the trends
before applying the political ramifications would give her a
clearer picture of what was a true trend and what was knee-jerk
reaction to socio-political news. Just as she was settling into
her routine the all stations page opened on her phone.

“In the Great Room in 5 minutes, called by Mr. Fountain.”
Deneigh’s voice rang clearly
in each office.

In most cases to call a partner forum there would be consults and
double-checks to assure mutual importance, but when you heard the
“called by” it usually meant the request was urgent. If it were
called by a “junior” partner, Deneigh might have run it by Ross
Curran, or now Selena Johnson, before making the call out. But
hearing Trace had called the forum, you knew it was immediately
important.

A few minutes had barely passed when you heard doors opening and
the clicking of heels on the hardwood floor before feet settled
into the carpet under the meeting table. Selena opened her door
and looked directly where Deneigh usually perched for such
meetings and saw a steno setting up, and Deneigh seated at the
table. When she caught her eye Selena winked at her. There was no
need for Deneigh to record the meeting and miss the gist of it.
She should sit in and be part of the forum if she were to become
a partner.

Selena settled into the armed chair and set a legal pad out when
she felt a presence behind her. She turned her head and Ross
Curran leaned to whisper, “Deneigh heard you, this time. I think
she’s getting it, finally.” Selena smiled and nodded and when she
turned back she saw Ross had placed his gavel in front of her.
She closed her eyes for a moment and almost bowed to the
definitive step this would be, showing everyone that she was
going to drive the team.

Looking up she saw every participant was there and she quietly,
but firmly dropped the gavel, instantly silencing the room.

“Mr. Fountain, you’ve called us together, proceed.” She said
firmly.

“Thank you Ms. Johnson. There’s going to be big news at the top
of the one o’clock hour about the Euro and it’s stability. The
ripple effect will take little time to make itself known on this
side of the pond for sure. Fear drives bad decisions and to make
much more of this than is necessary will spawn a lot of fear. We
should worry about Greece until they get propped up, but Germany
will drive the Euro’s stability as they won’t bend from their
strict monetary policies and will take great effort not to panic
the taxpayers. We’re going to hear in the next few weeks how the
Euro will fail, or how some countries may try to convert out of
it, but I think it’s all premature. The ECB (European Central
Bank) will be able save the banks by offering unlimited liquidity
for long duration against a broader range of collateral. As I see
it that should hold things stable for the foreseeable future.
Greece is not every European country as the media wants to
portray. Making an outright statement to our subscribers may
cause a bit of panic. But any of your portfolios you follow that
would be greatly influenced by the action of the Euro should be
watched. If the Euro is in demise, it will be a slow process, and
it won’t be blind, it won’t be a surprise. I just don’t think the
ECB will let it happen.”

Trace Fountain looked out over the gathered partners and looked
for reaction. Selena was first to speak up.

“Mr. Fountain, no one at this table can speak more authoritivly
than you when speaking of the ECB and the Euro. Like the average
investor we all read the panic that the media is trying to create
to make our dollar look better, despite the fact it’s backing may
not be as firm as the Euro’s. I agree that I see no reason to
make a blanket statement, but we should all check our folios for
anyone who might feel the pressure of the threat. I’m not sure if
I’m as assured as you of the future of the Euro, but I do cede to
your knowledge of those markets. Does anyone at the table feel we
should make a statement?”

The table was quiet, but Slim Beepo raised a hand and stood.

“Mr. Beupour, the floor is yours.” She nodded to him.

“If I may suggest after many years of working foreign money
markets. Read the blogs, study The Economist, and you’ll get a
clearer picture. Working on the floors of other exchanges, I can
tell you that Mr. Fountain has a better grasp of what’s happening
there than most everyone in Washington. Just make sure you make
yourself knowledgeable of the situation. Remember we deal in
stocks and futures, gold, oil and the like. We don’t usually deal
in a currency that props up a good deal of the financial world.
Read and learn.”

Trace Fountain stood and pointed to Slim. “Listen to this young
man, his words are wise. Know, know, know. This is going to be
something we will deal with for a long time to come and we may
have to deal with the Dollar in some of the same ways in the
future.”

Suddenly the table broke out in hushed mutterings to whomever
they sat next to while nodding agreement. Selena dropped the
gavel one more time.

“If this is all we need to deal with at the moment I suggest we
adjourn. Is there any other business?” Surprisingly, Jamaica
Browne stood up.

“If I may have a quick word?” She said quietly.

Selena nodded to her.

“It may seem a small thing, but since I’ve been here you’ve all
been patient, more than patient with me, and I thank you for
that. I promise you, there will be no more reasons for me to try
your patience. I have been known in college as Jaye, J-A-Y-E. I
would like to drop my formal name Jamaica and become Jaye. I’m
sure you will respect Jaye much more than you did Jamaica. A
small thing, I know, but it’s important to me.” Jamaica said
before sitting down.

“That is all fine Ms. Browne,” Selena said, “and I assure you we
all welcome Jaye Browne to our fold and look forward to her
contributions to the partnership should she further pursue that
end. Let’s gavel this done and ask the steno to present a copy of
the minutes after lunch.

 With that, it’s almost 12:30 I think we can all break a few
minutes early for lunch. Be aware I’m not here Monday and
remember to finish any business with me next Tuesday and
Wednesday morning. After that I’m gone for a couple weeks.”


To a man, each partner came over and wished her well as it had
become obvious she was taking the reins from Ross. John Branniff
and Trace Fountain had their “turns” at the helm in the past and
didn’t enjoy the time. Ross had been the “go to” guy for almost
11 years and he had tired of it and knew he had slipped on a few
decisions and was glad to cede to Selena.

Despite it being Friday Selena was surprised to see most of the
partners sitting in the great room with bagged lunches from home.
Friday was usually a “go out” day but apparently with the Holiday
week coming everyone felt obligated to stay in, even though it
was understood that business was never spoken over lunch. Jaye
Brown had opened a TIME magazine in front of her and others had
begun to read over her shoulders a story of a possible Republican
contender for the Presidency.

Selena had thrown on her coat and excused herself saying she
hadn’t brought a lunch and was going to the corner sandwich shop.

“Selena!” Jaye Browne called out causing her to turn on her heel.

“Here, catch!” Jaye hollered as a sandwich flew through the air
towards her.

She caught the sandwich and looked back quizzingly.

“Go ahead it’s PB & J on sourdough. I made two and I’ll never eat
them, I may have a dinner date tonight.” Jaye said with a smile.

“Are you sure? I can go out and get something, although I haven’t
had PB & J in years and it sounds good.”

“Take of your coat and stay, you have enough on your plate.” Jaye
said smiling as she turned back to her magazine.

Selena nodded to her and set the sandwich on the table while she
brought her coat back to her office. “Amazing!” She thought to
herself, “If this woman’s change in attitude and outlook is at
all the least bit phony, she’s got me fooled to my core. This was
truly a friend to friend gesture from someone who I was resolved
to terminate and I told in no unglowing terms to her face what I
thought of her.”

Since Jaye sat alone with empty chairs on either side of her
while a few others paired off to eat, Selena sat beside her after
getting a bottle of water from a courtesy cooler between two
offices.

“I’ve already told you,” Jaye began in a low almost whispering
tone, “But I can’t thank you enough for jolting me awake. I can’t
believe who I was and who I was turning into. This was all I
wanted for the past 5 years and I was throwing it away.”

“Jaye don’t dwell on it, and thank yourself for coming to the
realization. Focus on the ground you have to make up and the
partner’s votes you still have to win. Be yourself and it will
all come together.” Selena said quietly as she felt someone over
her shoulder.

“Is this the cool kid’s lunch table, or can I sit with you.” Slim
asked.

“This would have been the geeks table.” Selena said as Slim
pulled out the chair on the other side of Jaye.

The long conference table that seated 18 was now a table of
unlikely brown-baggers broken up into 3 cliques. John Branniff,
and Trace Fountain were trying to solve the New York Giants
problems, Deneigh and Ross Curran were discussing a revival play
she had just seen, while the 3 newest members had just settled
into light conversation. The fact all had stayed in on a Friday
and brought their own lunches showed a new comfort they had with
each other and a new élan since Selena returned.

Chapter 22

Jamaica “Jaye” Browne would never have admitted it to anyone, but
as she waited for her train to pull up, expecting to see “Bill”
holding a seat for her, her panties were wet. She certainly
didn’t expect to have a sexual encounter with Bill so soon, but
knowing it could happen if they played their feelings right made
her feel a certain freedom. Just a few weeks before she was using
sex to remain popular among a leeching crowd of hangers on who
were bleeding her dry of money and self-respect. Now, there was a
man who was pursuing her for a relationship, whom she was
pursuing right back. There was a special click between them and
while sex was certainly a possibility, it was not driving the
pursuit.

The 4 train got into 59th Street station between 4:45 and 4:55
each day with Bill sitting in the 3rd car right across from the
door. Obviously the 4 Train originated at the station where Bill
picked it up with empty cleaned cars where he could always be in
the same seat. This day was no different with one exception; Bill
sat with a white box in his lap, about14 inches long and 6 inches
wide, an obvious florist’s box. As Jaye got onto the train he
pulled his briefcase from the seat and Jaye sat down with no
words exchanged between them. He handed her the box, simply
saying “for you”.

She smiled widely and her eyes welled a bit and she couldn’t
speak from emotion as she looked through the window in the box
and saw the half dozen roses.. He looked her in the eye and said,
“I thought about your questioning of me and how I was insulted a
bit, but I really examined the situation, I was glad that you
cared enough about me to really want to know the things it
sometimes takes weeks or months to find about someone. I also
knew there was nothing in my past to make you NOT want to at
least go to dinner with me. We have a 7:30 reservation at Frankie
and Johnnies not far from the station where you get off. I’ll be
incredibly embarrassed if you turn me down.”

She smiled widely and, still unable to speak, she shook her head
to indicate she wouldn’t turn him down. She hugged the flower box
to herself and swallowed the knot in her throat to speak.

“Today was a big step for me where I work as far as acceptance
goes, this could be my life’s career, and suddenly things are
going my way. Now someone I really want to like, and like me
back, has made my day as well. From where my life was just a few
days ago to now has been a wonderful awakening.” She said as she
reached for his hand.

He pulled his hand back and said, “No, no! No until you tell me
your name and where you live. I don’t want to go door to door
from your stop until I find you.” He said laughing.

She reached into her purse and took out a Wall Street Global
Group business card and with a pen she crossed out Jamaica and
wrote Jaye, and then filled in her home address to hand to him.

“I’ll call for you right around 7, OK? Dress nicely, this is a
real fine place.” He told her before they continued their trip,
changing trains at Grand Central for the Metro North train.

The talk was small as suddenly each of them became nervous over
the date, knowing it could be the start of something wonderful if
the karma continued so positively. They found themselves not
talking at all, but staring off into nowhere until their eyes
happened to meet. Bill smiled at her and took her hand and she
covered his again with her other.

“Don’t worry. This will be fine. First dates are awkward, but we
both want this.” Bill said to her in a quiet, comforting voice.

“I know we do, but there is so much I wish I could tell you about
the last few weeks of my life so you could understand why I’m so
. . . . so, something. I can’t say nervous, because I’m anything
but that with you, or the thought of being alone with you. I just
can’t believe all of this that has happened to me.” She said,
knowing she was holding back too much.

He looked at her curiously wondering if there were things he
should know before they progressed any further.

“Oh God Bill, I’m not a criminal or anything. I just made some
bad decisions with my life and I’ve been given the opportunity
for a couple do-overs that people don’t normally get. I’ll fully
explain over dinner. There’s nothing to make you regret meeting
me, OK?” Jaye promised.

“I’m sure. You better gather your things your stop is coming up.”
He said with a smile as he helped her.

As the train slowed she stood and fastened her coat and took her
briefcase and the box of flowers from him. He stood and kissed
her cheek, whispering, “I’ll see you soon and I can’t wait to be
with you. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

Jaye floated home on her walk from the station to her apartment,
planning on what to wear and whether to invite him in before or
after their date. Then all of a sudden she realized something,
she really trusted him to be a gentleman no matter what the
situation. He obviously respected her and cared for her, the
flowers in her arms as proof. It would be a fun night.

As 7 o’clock approached Jaye began to relax after being in a
nervous hurry as she picked out underwear, fragrance, and ways to
wear her hair. She wanted to be perfect for her date and suddenly
she surprised herself with a wave of confidence. Her second
choice for a dress made her happy as it showed off her figure
well, but didn’t make her look cheap or easy. She knew her bust
line and bottom were attractive features and while wanting to
accent them, she didn’t want to draw the attention of every man
she passed. She wanted to look good for Bill.

The mantel clock in her living room was just chiming 7 bells when
her intercom buzzed.

She ran to the screen and saw Bill on the camera and she giggled
to herself before pushing the admitting switch.

“Come up Bill, the door on the right at the first landing.” She
said to him.

She heard him come up the stairs and opened the door as he was
about to knock.

“Please come in, don’t you look nice, out of your “train”
clothes.” She said with a laugh.

“Ah, yes. My trusty trench coat. I wear that to keep the train
smells and whatever I may end up sitting in from ruining my day.
Might I say while you always look nice, dressed for work, you
look especially nice tonight.” Bill said politely.

“Thank you! Please have a seat and I’ll be ready in just a
minute.” She told him as she pointed to her easy chair and sofa.

She went back to check her mirror and decided to gloss her lips
before getting a coat from her closet and draping it over her arm
as she came out to meet him.

Bill stood and took her coat, holding it for her to slip her arms
into. As he helped lift it over her shoulders he put a hand on
each shoulder and drew his face to hers and kissed her cheek
saying “You look wonderful and thank you for agreeing to go out
on short notice. I’ve really looked forward to seeing you.”

She turned and smiled and hugged him with an air kiss. “I’ll
admit I was nervous the whole day that you WOULDN’T ask me out
tonight.”

“Two nervous teenagers on a first date?” He asked.

“For sure.” She giggled as she reached for the door.

They went down the stairs hand in hand and he walked her to the
car, opening her door for her. It was the beginning of a great
evening full of anticipation.

At dinner Jaye was put at ease that the entire staff at the
restaurant seemed to know Bill and treated him special. When she
asked him if he often brought dates there he simply answered,
“Never a first date, usually old friends. That made her feel
special.

Their talk throughout dinner was non-stop each seeming to be more
interested in the others thoughts, interests, hobbies, and
careers. The fact Bill had served in The Gulf War and was a bit
older intrigued her. He was 10 years older, but seemed to think
younger, even noticing the music he listened to in his car. He
was in great physical shape and apparently took care of himself.
He didn’t seem to be the hound type and seemed respectful to
everyone he came into contact with, from the parking lot
attendant right up to the manger of the restaurant who came over
to say hello.

The date was so interesting to her that when she looked at her
watch and saw it was almost 9:30 she could barely believe they
had been there 2 hours. As he was paying the bill she wondered
what he had in store for the rest of the night, or if he expected
to go back to her place. She worried that he might make
assumptions, because even though she was ready to dive into this
relationship, she promised herself to go slow.

“If you think your coat is warm enough, it’s a nice clear night,
would you like to walk the boardwalk at Port Chester Harbor. It’s
well lit and we can get a good look at the stars. It’s close by.
This is the last weekend for the amusement park; they open most
of the park Fridays and Saturdays through November as long as the
weather holds, so there should be lots of people around. I don’t
want you to think I’m trying to get you somewhere isolated.” Bill
said wanting to make sure she knew she was in trusted hands.

“Bill, don’t be paranoid about my questions yesterday. If I
didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be with you right now. My screening
of you had as much to do with my job as it did my own safety.”
She told him hoping he might understand.

He opened her door once again for her, making her smile, he being
so polite and thoughtful. Her younger suitors were never so
gentlemanly.

True to his word, it was a short trip to the harbor and there
were quite a few people in the area. That side on Long Island
often kept winters door closed late in the year, many times till
Thanksgiving. Although most of the boardwalk vendors were closed
or closing at that hour, a walk out on the pier was still well
lit.

Jaye felt a chill and grabbed Bills arm to hug up to as they
walked.

“I’ve thought of walking like this with you since the first time
we talked and I had hoped to date you. Silly huh?” Bill said,
embarrassed.

“No, not silly Bill. I’ve been mixed in a much faster crowd, in
college and all, and I find you quite refreshing. I like being
treated special, and I do find you quite special.” She said as
they stopped near the end of the pier.

They both looked out to the stars in the evening sky, now more
visible away from the park lights. She hugged his arm even
tighter and looked into his eyes as he scanned the sky.

“Bill? I would like this to be the place where we had our first
kiss.” She said as he looked down to her.

Nervously he pressed his lips to hers and they shared a deep
kiss.

“That was nice, I’ll remember that first one.” She said with a
giggle.

“I guess that means there will be a second one, too?” Bill said
as he pressed his lips to hers again, this one lasting longer.

“You’re sweet.” She said as she pulled at him to turn and go
back, the evening chill getting to her.

They walked arm and arm slowly back into the well lit boardwalk
area and to the car.

He opened her door once again and she got in, not losing eye
contact with him. When he got into the car, she had scooted a
little closer than before and when he went to reach to put the
key into the ignition, she took his hand.

“I’m not trying to go too fast here Bill, but I do find you
special.” She said as she sought out his lips again.

This kiss lasted longer than the last and their tongues met just
before she broke it and sat back and smiled. “That was nice.”

“It sure was Jaye, and you know I find you special as well. But,
we should head back. Unfortunately I have to work in the
morning.” He said as he started the car and they drove from the
park lot and back into Rye.

When they got to her apartment building Bill got right out and
got her door, offering his arm to walk her to the door. She
smiled at his chivalry and when they got to the outside door she
turned to him.

“Would you like to come in for a minute? A private kiss would be
so nice.” She said as she looked to the downstairs apartment
window, where someone could easily look out at them.

“Sure, I’ll come up.” He said, only too anxious to be alone with
her.

They went up the stairs together and she opened her door and went
inside.

She turned to him and they stepped into each other’s arms,
kissing hard and passionately.
Their tongues played together as the embrace became more intense.

They broke the kiss to look into each other’s eyes.

“That was a lot nicer than having anyone peek at you, huh?” She
asked.

He smiled and kissed her once again, before asking, “Can I see
you again?”

“That would make me very happy Bill, tomorrow?” She asked.

“Sure, I work and won’t get home until 6, though.” He answered.

“That’s OK. I’ve got to write a feature for our Sunday
Newsletter, so I’ll be tied up most of the day anyway. How does
this sound, tell me the stop where you get off the train and I’ll
go there and you can pick me up and bring me to your house? I’d
love to see where you live and then maybe we can get a bite or
see a movie.” She suggested.

“I could just come and get you.”

“Don’t be silly, you’ll have worked all day. Let me come to you
and then you can bring me home later. I’ll call you when I leave
the apartment and you can meet me at your stop. OK?”

Bill agreed and kissed her once more before turning to leave.

He opened the door and her hand covered his on the knob as he
drew it away.

“I had a wonderful night Bill, even more so than I had hoped.”
She said as she sought his lips once again.

They kissed and he was on his way.

She closed the door and fell back against the door and swooned
while clutching herself.

She thought, “THAT was the kind of date I always dreamed of.” 
Chuckling to herself so that she felt like Marlo Thomas from the
old That Girl reruns she used to watch in high school.

It was barely 11 o’clock but she couldn’t wait to get to bed and
dream about Bill. She only hoped he was as excited as she was
about their getting together. She was no more in bed when her
hands found her moistening sex between her legs. Yes, she would
dream about Bill, but first she would fantasize about him. He
seemed he would be a perfect man to re-start her life and career
with. She hoped she could hold out a few weeks before giving into
sex, even though it was what she wanted right now. But in her
mind it was different than other partners, especially those most
recently. She wanted him, but not because she was horny and had
needs to soothe. She wanted him to show him how much she cared
for him and how she wanted to please him. This was a new tact for
sex with Jamaica, and it brought her a whole new perspective on
love and relationships.

She woke about 12 hours later with a smile on her face and only a
pair of thong panties around one ankle. She lay in bed with a
smile on her face replaying her date the night before, and . . .
YES! It was as much fun and as satisfying as she had imagined it
while it actually happened. Now, she wondered if Bill had the
same thoughts.

 She bounced out of bed and made coffee and then jumped in the
shower to freshen up and give the coffee time to brew. Once out
she pulled her laptop out and began to put together her article
for the Sunday Night Letter.

 At about 12:30 her phone rang and she thought of letting the
machine get it but since so few people had her number she was
sure it could be a “good” call.

“Good afternoon! I didn’t get you out of bed, did I? I figured
noon was safe.” Bill said with a happy lilt.

“Bill! No, I‘ve been up for an hour or so and just began writing
my article. How is your day going? So sorry you had to work.” She
answered.

“So, do you still want to come over and see my house tonight?” He
asked.

“Yes, of course! There’s a train at 6:50 and I’ll call you when
it leaves the Purchase Street Station and I’ll get off at Port
Chester and hopefully you’ll be there to get me.” She said,
having planned her trip on the internet.

“That will be good. After I show you the house we can hit a movie
and then stop for a burger or pizza. How’s that sound?” He asked.

“Bill, I have a feeling that as long as I’m with you, everything
will be fine. You’re really very sweet.” She said blushing to
herself and wondering if she oversold her feelings too soon.

“Ha, I have employees here who don’t think I’m so sweet, but they
aren’t quite as nice as you either. I have to run. I’ll wait for
your call and look forward to tonight. Kiss-kiss.” He said,
obviously having to take care of another matter right away.

That matter was another call coming in and Saturdays he was alone
after the window closed, so he had to be sure phones were
answered promptly.

“Hello Billy, it’s Lindsey. You didn’t call me this week. Did you
want to see a movie?”

“Oh, I can’t Lindy. I’ve got something else going on tonight.” He
said, trying not to sound too abrupt.

“I wish I knew who my competition, this Rebecca, was Bill. She
seems to get you most of the summer, but . . . .” She started to
say, half kidding, half serious.

“Lindsey, I’ve told you I didn’t want to be tied down and this
was the way it was going to be. You aren’t competing. I have a
good time with both of you and, to tell you the truth, it isn’t
Rebecca. I’ve met someone else.”

“Bill, I know you’re screwing both of us, and I can handle that.
I went in this relationship with both eyes open, but if you’re
seeing someone else . . . .” She said leaving the possible
ultimatum open.

“We don’t have a relationship Lindsey, we’re friends, and you
made it friends with benefits. It’s the same way with Rebecca.
She’s a friend who I’ve known a long time, and yes, it’s also
with benefits, and she knows the story, all about you, as well.
Pressure like this is precisely why I don’t want a committed
relationship.” He said coldly.

“I’m sorry Bill. I don’t mean to chase you away. You know I’m 30
years old and not getting any younger. You are the man I thought
could make me happy, but apparently you’re looking for something
else. Maybe we should cool it for a bit.” Lindsey said sadly.

“Lindsey, there’s nothing to cool. You’ve known that we were just
friends for a long time and if you thought you were going to
change that with sex, you were wrong. Don’t make me say things to
hurt your feelings. We’ve always been a lot of fun for each
other, and part of that fun for me has been no expectations.” He
explained.

“Bill, you call me when you want to see me again, OK?” She said
obviously hurt while knowing all along what the situation really
was.

Bill Centofranchi felt terrible about how he spoke to Lindsey,
but cold hard facts made it easier to explain to her. She was
divorced almost 10 years from a school buddy of Bill. That buddy
also joined the service, but he never came home from Iraq. They
hooked up for company when he got home and she pushed the
relationship to sex, saying “no commitments”, just satisfying
urges. But clearly she felt that would make him fall in love with
her.

Rebecca was a woman he met in Iraq, brought together because they
were both from Long Island. She came from money, but got into
drug trouble and she joined the service after rehab to avoid jail
time and get back in her family’s good graces. She looked him up
when they were on leave one Christmas and Bill made a play for
her. She let him know that she wasn’t looking for a relationship
and he accepted that. Since then she wanted more, and he let her
down the same way he told Lindsey.

Now, he actually found someone he might WANT a relationship with
and he knew that he could no longer see either “fuck buddy” if he
were to pursue Jaye at all. As confusing as the situation seemed,
he hoped to keep his options open with both “friends” if seeing
Jaye didn’t work out.

His fear of things not working with Jaye had to do with his own
self confidence. She was obviously a very attractive young girl,
why was she pursuing him? Did she see him as a father figure?
Someone to lead her through life, and show her the safe way and
spank her, either literally or figuratively, when she strayed? He
didn’t see himself as that much of a catch. He underestimated how
much “stability” worked into the thinking of a woman, no matter
how old, when searching for a long term partner. What he didn’t
know or realize was that Jamaica was not looking for a long term
partner either, for that matter, when she met Bill. It just
happened and the spontaneity of the situation put her in that
thought process. Bill also was not “looking” when he found
Jamaica. He just expected a girl of her generation X type to be
cold and unappreciative of his help that day. When she sought out
the comfort of his smile and friendliness he found a connection.
Now it was almost as he wondered when she might meet someone her
own age and be able to lose him, the older man.

The truth was, Jaye never considered Bills age when her interest
in him kindled. She had just dealt with so many “user” and
“phony” types in the city that coming across a real gentleman was
a pleasant surprise.


It was 6:48 when Jaye called Bill Centofranchi’s cell phone to
tell him she was boarding the train at Purchase Street station in
Rye. Bill sounded anxious to meet up with her as he talked her
through trip to Port Chester station. Nerves suddenly got to her
as the trip unfolded, wondering if she was chasing too hard, but
as the train pulled into Port Chester she saw Bill leaning
against the hood of his red Buick LaCrosse as his eyes searched
the windows for Jaye’s face. She waved quickly before getting to
her feet and heading to the exit door.

When she came out of the station she walked towards Bill and his
car and found herself almost running. Her paranoia scolded her
for appearing so anxious to be with him but he opened his arms
wide as he got to him and they embraced firmly, ending in a kiss.

“I missed you today, we had so much we didn’t talk about last
night.” He said, wishing he hadn’t, his own paranoia scolding
him.

Suddenly they were both quiet as he drove the short trip to his
house, with Jaye only commenting that it was a nice neighborhood.

As they entered the house Bill offered to take her coat and give
her the “grand tour”, but as soon as he turned from the closet
and went to take her hand to lead her around the house their eyes
met and they kissed deeply, their tongues brushing each others.

Quickly Bill broke the kiss and looked at her in fear.

“Oh my God, don’t think I thought you were here so I might seduce
you. That was just spontaneous, I’m so sorry.” He apologized.

“Easy Bill, I felt it too. I know we can’t rush things, but I
respect your intentions. I think we’re both trying to over think
this relationship through the sparks that have flown, and believe
me, they have flown.” Referring to her thoughts and actions when
she got to bed the night before.

Bill had went to bed with a damp wash cloth in hand to catch his
own passion as he thought of her pert, and seeming, innocent,
little body. He thought of that himself when she talked of sparks
flying and simply said “Yes, they have and I’m trying to deal
with it all.”

“Let’s agree that neither of us should try too hard to read each
other’s mind, and just talk and be honest.” Jaye said hoping to
get things on the right track.

“I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m already afraid you’ll find
me uninteresting compared to guys your age that you may have
dated. I have far right values from hard work, being a war
veteran, and having to earn all I have, and . . . . .”

“You don’t think a woman can have those values?” she said trying
to finish his thought.

“I gave up a couple years of High School, Proms and all of that
stuff to pursue my career after my studies came to light of Wall
Street Global. They comb the list of scholastic excellence
achievers. I had to sign commitments to years of service to them
for the money they invested in my education. I have a good chance
of becoming a vested partner, and if you don’t think the values
of this firm are on the right, you’re wrong. They made sure I
went to an institution with core values for what I had to study
to get to their level and they even chose the professors I saw to
lead me that way. Bill, I HAVE those values and value my country
and the principles on which it was founded. Don’t mix me in with
the rest of the “Yes we can, hopey, changey” crowd who’ve been
led around like sheep to the tune of a new piper. I’m John Wayne,
not Jane Fonda.”

“Holy Cow Jaye! I wasn’t trying to touch a nerve, but I’m glad
you defended yourself so passionately.” Bill said as he was so
surprised at her outburst. “I wondered how you could just be
almost 22, as you put it, have 4 years of college, and be on Wall
Street for over a year.”

“Is THAT what you meant about there being so much we didn’t talk
about last night?” She asked.

“Yes, it is. I guess the way I see it in my mind is Lady Gaga
dating Bill O’Reilly, wondering what you could possibly see in me
when someone your own age might make your life more exciting.”
Bill said in a self deprecating tone.

“Bill, I have a slice of my life I wasn’t going to tell you about
unless we got terribly involved, but in fairness, here goes . . .
. . Just a few weeks ago I was running with a crowd more my age
and  I was ruining my life. Leeches were sucking the money out of
me, the self respect from me, and I was involved with a lot of
drugs and alcohol pissing my life away while my position at Wall
Street Global was about to be terminated. I had become a part of
the fast young crowd in Manhattan, a part I was most unlikely to
play, but was dragged into by the speed my life was moving at.
I’m ashamed to tell you about the cocaine, vicodin, booze, and
lack of morals I had. But, I’m back on track now. I was bitch
slapped back to my real life by someone I respect more than you
can understand. This person got me my apartment and when I was
first taking the train to see it, YOU were the first person I
encountered in my new life. You seemed so friendly, so trusting,
and I used you as a security blanket all the way to my stop.
After I got off the train I was sorry I hadn’t gotten your name,
or some way to get a hold of you, because in a city this big,
what were the chances I would run into the same person again.
Fate wanted us to try to be together. I’m not shopping for a
relationship, or was I looking for one. But, I think we have the
start of one, unless I’ve scared you away.”

Bill was taken aback by her words at first, but reassured her
quickly.

“Jaye, anything that happened before I met you is none of my
business and I also believe that people can change. I was not
looking for a relationship, but also feel I should give this one
a chance. I have a couple girlfriends, and I certainly mean GIRLS
that are FRIENDS and nothing more. They both pursue me hard to
become their steady, but I’ve told them more than once that it
won’t happen. But you, YOU have a certain something, an honesty
that I can’t put a finger on, that intrigues me, makes me want to
open up my life to you. When I kissed you before I acted like a
school boy trying to seduce his date once he got her alone, and
I’m not trying to do that. Am I making sense?”

“Yes, you make sense, but maybe now we’re both over analyzing
things. Let’s just say that we want to be with each other and
want to get to know each other, and if things work out, it will
be great. OK? There won’t be any seducing, no matter how tempting
it might be. Before I do anything committal for the wrong
reasons, I want to be sure of what I’m doing.” Jaye responded as
she stepped back in hopes of being shown the house where he
lived.

She loved the fact he lived in this “Leave It To Beaver” type
neighborhood and not in some high-rise in the city. His house was
neat, especially for a bachelor, and seemed to want or need a
woman’s touch. But, obviously, the two other women who courted
him did little to try and change the man’s touch the home had.
After the full tour he offered her a seat on the sofa while he
got the newspaper to check movies and times.

As they looked over the movies she couldn’t help but notice how
many dealt with relationships, “Friends With Benefits”, “No
Strings Attached”, “Just Go With It”. They all made Jaye feel
uncomfortable and then Bill suggested a local Art theatre showing
a sneak of “Midnight in Paris” and they decided on that.

Jaye later reflected to herself that the night was magical as
they both enjoyed the movie and spent an hour talking over its
plot while eating a midnight pizza at a corner tavern in Port
Chester. Bill brought her home where they kissed and snuggled in
his car before he walked her to her door. She invited him up for
a coffee for the drive home, but “coffee” ended up being necking
standing just inside her door. Both of them had the thought to
move it to the sofa, but neither trusted each other to suggest
it. Their necking was mostly innocent with possible exceptions
being Jaye obviously feeling his erection press against her and
Bills hand cupping a buttock trying to hold her closer. They both
wanted to be sure their relationship was founded on their karma
and not sex, so once it got a little sweaty Jaye suggested he
leave, but to be sure he called her in the morning. He agreed and
their night ended with each of them causing their own sparks once
again, home alone in their beds with their fantasies.

Chapter 23

The Saturday morning move of Selena and Joe to their condo
apartment across from the Fox Studios could not have gone any
smoother. Since 95% of the furniture in the Four Seasons suite
was part of the room they had few things to move after the 3
moving closets of mostly Selena’s wardrobe went out. There was a
jewelry armoire, a shoe rack and a straight backed wing chair
that Joe liked to relax in as it supported his back so well after
workouts or long days.

Joseph had arranged with one of the restaurant suppliers to have
a truck at the Four Seasons dock at 11 o’clock to roll the 3
moving closets and furniture onto. The closets were far too tall
for any van and the trip to the new condo was a short one and an
easy favor for Joseph to call in. The truck left the loading area
at their new digs even before 11:30 and all that was left to do
was move the things into the new condo.

As Selena transferred arm load after arm load of clothes from the
wood framed cardboard closets to the deep wardrobe walk-in of the
new place Joe simply chuckled to himself as she passed by him
sitting on the bed.

“Can I help?” He asked.

“No, if I don’t arrange my own things I’ll never find them,
besides I have to pull out the things we’re taking to Jamaica.”
She answered brusquely as she tried to hurry so they could go out
and get bedding for the bed, that they had forgotten they needed.

With the bedbug scare in New York, anyone who was moving into a
new place had to buy new mattresses, box springs and bedding. The
mattress and box spring were delivered and still sealed as Joe
sat on them, but nothing to make the beds with was there.

“We COULD try out the new mattress this morning.” He joked.

“You COULD just lie there and jerk off and tell me how it was.”
She answered sharply.

“My, aren’t you in a mood?” He said back indignantly.

“Joseph Johnson!” She scolded towards him, “I’ve worked myself
into a sweat trying to get this done as soon as I can so we can
get over to Macy’s and get stuff to sleep on tonight, and then
take a shower to freshen up before we go to the theater tonight
and still have time to pack for the weekend, have dinner and then
maybe even take you up on the invitation to bed. PLUS, I’d like
to get a submission in for the Sunday Night Letter to show
Jamaica, or Jaye . . whatever, that one can’t get too busy not to
make the effort.”

“We can skip the theatre if it’s that much of a burden. I just
thought it might be fun to come home to the new place after a
nice night out.” Joe explained.

“I agree, but I also want to have our weekend clothes sorted out,
our Jamaica clothes sorted out, so we can leave early tomorrow
and then not have to hassle next week with packing as long as
everything has to be handled anyway!” She whined.

“If I can’t help you, I’ll be setting up the entertainment center
in the living room. Let me know when you want to leave for
Macy’s.” Joe said leaving her by herself.

A few blocks away at The Regency it was well after 1 o’clock but
Lucy and Jeromy were just waking up from a long night of reunion.
Jeromy looked over at his beauty and wondered how he was able to
be apart from her for so long. She saw him appraising her and
smiled.

“You know some of the best years of our marriage, the best times
we ever had were after I committed what you called “the sin”. I
said we wouldn’t talk of it again, but I have to get this off my
chest. I sacrificed my pride and any virtue I had left to save
our marriage that was spinning just above the downspout and ready
to go into the sewer. You had gotten complacent and lazy and I
had sold nearly everything I could to help make minimum payments
on the credits cards. Even if we both got 50K jobs, it would have
taken 4 or 5 years to get out from in under those monthly
payments and we were already at each other’s throats. Admittedly,
if I hadn’t got the job with The Toy Store while I was out there
we might have paid off everything and walked away from each other
clean. But getting that job made me believe in us, that fate
wanted us to stay together. Once the pressure came off you to
find work, it all happened for you. If I had a half a brain I
should have refused to watch the porno that night when they came
over. It’s not something married people do with other couples,
and I was cocky that I could get a pass on it from you. Had that
not happened it would have been no harm, no foul, because I was
able to put it all behind me. The good it did for us made me
justify it and NEVER feel any guilt, except when I had to admit
it to friends, especially Selena. Now, THAT was the last word. I
had to tell you that in fairness. My only regret was hurting you,
not that I had done it, but that I had hurt you.”

“I accept that and I want to apologize for the time I spent
punishing you. You should know that I was punished as badly as
you, if not worse and more than anything, my goddam male ego and
pride kept me from crawling back long ago. I was stupid and I’m
ready to go on. Last words.” Jeromy said.

“So when do we see Selena and Joe?” He asked.

“Mmm, not sure. Their day is full today and they go upstate
tomorrow. They won’t be back here until Tuesday morning, and I’ll
be in Pittsburgh Tuesday. What’s your schedule?” She asked.

“I’m pitching a package in Atlanta on Monday and then Baltimore
Tuesday, but then I float for the rest of the week, Thanksgiving,
and all.” He answered.

“Float? You don’t float Mister. You’ll be with your wife back
home. I’ve got a job jar so big you won’t believe it. You want to
come live with me again, don’t you?” She teased.

“Of course, but how can we call our home in Saratoga, home? Your
corporate is in Glendale, and central shipping is in Pittsburgh.
My office is in Oakland, but I’m on the road 3 or 5 nights a
week.” He wondered.

“You’ve always be able to be close to me, spying on me. Just
where do you call home and how much stuff do you have to move?”
She asked.

“Believe it or not, I just live in motels, and yes, I did always
manage to stay close to where you were, or make it seem so. I
have a storage unit back in Albany with a wardrobe and a dresser
of my things. Just cheap furniture that I would pack from.
Whenever you were home to Saratoga, I was usually having my
laundry done. Most Sunday nights I was bringing my clean clothes
and empty travel bags to the storage unit. I’d put things away
and then pack for the week. I kept up with a few of our friends,
but no one you’re really attached to without me. It wasn’t a
great life, but it was organized.”

“Now that you won’t be shadowing me, do you really think you’ll
have to be away that much? Don’t you have enough connections that
you can do internet presentations?” She asked as she propped up
on one elbow and put a finger to the middle of his chest, pushing
him back.

“I, uh . . suppose. I really thought we might travel together. I
do most of my business near your corporate and then the east
coast.” He proposed.

“But for now, all of your Holiday ad programs must be laid out,
set up and sold, right?” She quizzed. “I thought after I set up
our Holiday marketing plan I could spend some time at home, just
me and you.”

“We just bought a lot of time for Super Bowl week and I’ll have
to get out and pedal that soon.”

“I’ll make you a deal, I can be sure to be home 4 nights a week.
Can you commit to that?”  She asked him.

“I’ll do that if it saves us. With our two incomes and only one
roof to pay for, we should be able to save a lot of money. If we
invest right, we should be able to retire young. I like that
idea.” Jeromy surmised as he began to see where Lucy was leading
him as she moved in closer to him.

“Geez Luce, didn’t you get enough last night? My dick felt like
it was ready to fall off when we went to sleep.” Jeromy joked.

“Hmmm, if it falls off I’ll only need you one night a week then,
as long as I can take it with me.” She said as she smiled and
reached under the covers for his already hardened prong.

She pulled back the covers and moved her head to get close to the
beckoning purple head, but stopped to look up, “Perhaps you’d
rather feel the hand you used on it the last three years, than
the wet mouth and pussy you’ve had the last 2 nights.”

Jeromy just shook his head as he felt her mouth engulf the head.
“My God, you are so fucking sexy. I would have bet money that
little Jeromy would have been to worn out after last night. You
got me three times!”

“Shut up and be a good boy and get your fat fingers in my pussy,
then number four will go right down my throat.” She said as she
shifted herself to let him get at her.


Selena came out of the bedroom and sighed deeply, “There! All
done! Clothes sorted for both of us, one load to go home with,
and the rest to pack for Jamaica, and everything else put away.
The closets are DONE!”

She expected to hear Joe laud her accomplishment, but instead
heard nothing.

“Joe? Joe, aren’t you right out here?” She said as she looked
around the corner from the living room where she expected to see
him setting up his music and their Bose with the existing media
system in the condo.

She walked past the few personal pieces of furniture they had
just moved in that were yet to be placed and then through the
kitchen. Still no Joe.

“If he’s pissed off at how long it took me,” She thought to
herself, “That he just took off and went shopping alone . . . . .
SO IMPATIENT!”

She felt her jaw tighten as she went to the window to see if he
might be walking to the deli or coffee shop. It was there that
she heard the buzz of a light snore from behind her. There, in
the wing chair he so loved, still set askew where the movers left
it was Joe. He chin firmly rested in his chest as he snored away,
the Bose manual in his lap.


She chided herself for scourging him in her mind for offenses he
hadn’t committed. She quickly softened and went to the side of
the chair and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He startled awake
and looked up at her confused.

“Holy shit! Are the movers here?” He asked quickly trying to get
his bearings.

“Joe, we’ve moved and you’ve fallen asleep.. Remember setting up
the Bose?” She said with a laugh at his confusion.

“Oh FUCK! Was I out or what? I was dreaming heavy dreams of . .
of . . .Jeez, I don’t even know WHAT I was dreaming, but I was
deep down and away.” He exclaimed.

“Maybe we should skip the show tonight and just go to bed early
so you’ll be fresh for the drive tomorrow.” She said as she
affectionately pushed his hair off his forehead and back.

“ . . and get me my Metamucil and my wheelchair! I’m not a
hundred and ten, I’m just tired and bored waiting for YOU!” He
snapped at her comments.

“Calm down Joe Johnson, there’s nothing wrong with being tired
and I said nothing about you being OLD. I’m sure you’ll prove to
me how young and virile you are in Jamaica, over and over.” She
said with a soft smile as she cuddled her face to his, settling
in his lap.

The stiffening of his back and the hair that was up on his neck
both settled as she calmed him and reminded him of their trip and
the fact they were so much in love and destined to proving it
over and over real soon.

“You know we don’t have to be in Jamaica to make love you know.”
He said suggestively.

“No, but if you want to have sheets to cum on, or for me to leak
cum on, we better get to Macy’s now, or we’ll either miss our
dinner reservation or the curtain for the show.” She whispered as
she reached and gave his package a squeeze before standing up
from his lap.

Joe stood and stretched and looked to the waiting Selena as she
stood by the door. He smiled at her and went to her side moving
them both towards the elevator, his hand cupping her ass.

On the elevator he kept close to her and leaned in to whisper,
although they were alone, “I can never get over how beautiful and
sexy you really are. I couldn’t love you more, you know.”

She tipped her lips up to kiss him saying, “The same thought
passed through my mind just now too. We are so blessed. Not that
we need a certain place to make love, but just think, on Thursday
there will be just you and me to quench our thirst for each other
whenever we want in our little Eden with the sound of the ocean
behind us.”

The elevator opened and they alit with eyes locked on each other.
The afternoon of shopping would fly by as they waited for their
first chance to be alone and intimate again.



Chapter 24

Jamaica Browne woke very early on Sunday morning after a
frustrating night of tossing and turning. Her frustration was
sexual and as many times as she masturbated to solve her want for
a man, and not any man, she had found a man who treated her like
she always dreamed of.
Bill Centofranchi was older and more mature than any other man
she had dated or been with. Her sexual experience before coming
to New York was limited she would be the first to admit she gave
into sex with many partners for the sake of being wanted, being
accepted into the crowd she had met in the dance clubs of
Manhattan. She had money to burn on drugs and drinks that kept
her “friends” hanging on, and this group was only happy to drain
her of her cash in exchange for her need to be accepted. The
night before she was confronted by Selena to either get right or
leave was probably the night when her conscience had finally
revolted and had her searching for answers and a way out of the
depths she had sunken.

She had run around with another fast girl who showed her where to
get the drugs for both of them, plus she knew where to go to see
the best bands and how to meet the bands. That night when she
woke in a strange hotel suite she remembered little, but she did
know she had rolled around nude in a bed with this girl while 3
members of the band who stayed in the suite watched. It was a
matter of time before all 5 of them were on the bed and having
sex. The each took turns with the 2 stoned girls and as Jamaica
was looking for something else to take to dull her senses she
felt fingers trying to pry her ass open and male voices talking
about fucking them both in their asses. She struggled to get
dressed and got out of there knowing she had to be at work in
just a few short hours, and she didn’t even know where she was.
Jamaica cried hard with the memory of her five-some, so ashamed
at herself, especially since she knew that it was just not her,
but she had sunken so deep she didn’t know how to get out. Then
Selena saved her, even though Selena said she saved herself.
Selena was the impetus force that drove her.

Now only a few days since she had found herself attracted to a
man who treated her like a woman should be treated, but she was
having thoughts of not being worthy. She craved him, but told
herself she didn’t deserve a man this good. She tossed and turned
in half sleep, half teary shame. Finally after her few hours of
fitful sleep she got up, showered, put on soft pajamas, and went
to her computer in hopes of finding something to take her mind
away from her thoughts. She saw the piece of paper she had
dropped on the keyboard with the email address, IM tag, and
twitter name Bill had written for her when they exchanged info
that night after she saw his computer.

She rarely used any IM, twitter, or facebook type of networking,
but put his name in her IM queue. Almost instantly his ID popped
up and she wondered if he had just left the window open all night
long.

But a few seconds later an Instant Message popped up, “R U up? I
can’t sleep either”.
She wondered what kept him from sleeping, knowing it wasn’t as
mind wrenching and disturbing as her sleep hurdles.

“Just thinking about us, where we’re going, if I” She wrote and
sent.

“If U what?”  He sent.

“My life was pretty F U. You make me happy.” She wrote.

“Ditto here. Life was hum drum. You give me life.” Bill
responded.

“If you knew me, you wouldn’t think that.” She wrote.

“I’m trying to get to know you. What are you hiding? You seem so
happy when we’re together.”

“You make me that way. Ten days ago you would have tossed me
aside like something cheap.” She tearfully sent.

“Don’t talk foolish. We’ve all done things that bring us shame,
just in different degrees. I doubt you’re a murderer, and I doubt
you’re a thief. By the job you have you must be pretty special.
If I dwell on things I did in Iraq I could get myself in a rut as
well. But there are things we have to do, and there are things we
regret doing, but seemed either right or fashionable at the time.
Don’t kill yourself over it.”

“But,” She started to write but she started crying. Bill waited
for her to finish and then thought she might be too upset.

“Answer me this, are you that person NOW? After thinking about
whatever it was?” He asked.

“NO!!!!!!!!!” she wrote back with many points to show her
determination.

“Then why dwell on it.”

“Can you come over? Please?” She wrote.

“Are you sure? We got pretty heavy last night and I thought about
you A LOT last night after I got to bed ;-)”

“Same here, but I can’t stop thinking about you. Nothing will
happen without a lot of talk.” She fired off.

“TALK, four letters ends in K and means to communicate.”

“Touche’, there are other forms of “KommuniKation. I promised
myself we wouldn’t “talk” until we knew each other better. It
sounds silly, but I really need to see you, touch you, and hear
your voice.” She typed hoping he would get the gist of her
meaning.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t go for that either, should we
promise each other?”

“Promise what? No penis in vagina sex?” She asked bluntly.
“I didn’t think you would put it that way, but yes.”

“I promise that we’ll keep that special for another point in our
relationship, if it gets there.” She wrote back with a big
embarrassed grin.

“I’ll be over in 15 minutes.”

“I can’t wait to see you. I’m in my PJ’s and I’m not getting
dressed.” She happily wrote as she saw him sign off.

Jaye was a mess, having tossed and turned all night, not to
mention sweating through one nightie trying to get herself off,
then showering and changing, then crying in front of the
computer. Now she had a hopeful smile on her face knowing Bill
was coming over. She had hoped to communicate to him that she
needed him, but didn’t want to be coerced or even tempted to give
into as she called it “penis in vagina” sex. However, she thought
a little heavy petting might put her right and see what kind of
man Bill really was. She hoped he was the person she thought he
was. He was on his way over.


When Bill got into his car and backed from his garage it was the
first time he realized just how early it was. It was still dark
and the sun was just beginning to show signs of rising. It was
just past 6:30. He had left her a little more than 4 hours ago.
As Bill drove over he was more worried about her mental state
than anything. Yes, he would love to get laid to satisfy his
urges, but he really wanted to keep that special with Jaye, if it
ever got to that natural point. It was obvious she was open for
some heavy foreplay but he was to make it clear to her that sex
was out. He didn’t want this to turn into another “friends with
benefits” deal. He wanted a special relationship because he
didn’t respect his two other female “suitors” because they used
him for sex.

Jaye spent the time waiting for Bill to dry and fix her hair. She
wanted to do more with her face, but since she usually wore
little or no make-up, her tired and cried out look would just
have to brighten naturally. She put on a pot of coffee in the Mr.
Coffee and looked to see if she needed to straighten up when the
buzzer signaled Bill’s arrival.

She let him up and sort of held her breath wondering if this was
a smart move, to invite him over. She feared he might think she
was too needy, or a constant project. Always having to fix her.

She opened the door as she heard his footsteps and smiled
sheepishly as he came in the door. She wanted to jump into his
arms, but let him make the move. He hugged her tightly, feeling
her warm body through her snuggly pajamas, and kissed her.

“Let me get out of my cold jacket and give you a proper hug.” He
said as he unzipped his coat and pulled off a sweatshirt to
reveal a pajama top as well.

“You wore your jammies too!” She giggled as he left his coat on
the doorknob and dropped his sweatshirt.

He turned away from her and undid the stay on his khaki’s and let
them fall to reveal the bottoms of his pajama’s as well.

They both laughed as she leapt into his arms for a proper hug and
kiss.

“Are we the only two grown-ups who still wear PJ’s to bed?” She
asked.

“Actually I sleep just in my underwear, but put on these to
lounge around until I get dressed.” Bill told her.

She blushed and said, “Me too”.

She took his hand and walked to the sofa and showed him where to
sit and she cuddled up next to him, resting her head in the crux
of his arm.

“This is what I needed. Warm cuddling and understanding. I don’t
want you to think I’m such a mess all of the time. Let me try to
explain a little. You know how they say this city and eat you up
and spit you out?” She said as she got a mild rush from feeling
his warmth next to her.

“Uh huh, it can be mean.” He agreed, wanting her to go on.

“When I got on that subway car and saw you that day, it had just
spit me out. The person who is now my mentor had shown me the
fork in the road, and my final check was drawn and I faced a
shameful trip home as a failure at life, or I could suck it up,
man up, as they say, face my demons and beat them back. Your
friendliness, cool demeanor, and seeming to actually care for a
complete stranger, showed me that life, this city, and all I have
worked for, was really worth the effort to crawl back and be
where I was supposed to be, be who I was supposed to be. But now
guilt is making me think I am not what you think I am.” She said
as she teared up and snuggled him tighter.

“Jamaica,” He said calling her proper name for the first time,
“Is the person I’m getting to know the real person, or is the one
you walked away from the real person.”

“Bill, I’M the real Jamaica Browne, not the one who I turned
into. I did stupid things and made big mistakes and maybe I guess
I think I need to be punished more and don’t deserve you.” She
said tearfully.

“Jaye, I told you before, everyone lives with things they’ve done
that they aren’t proud of. I don’t care, unless you’re a
criminal, what happened before I met you. I don’t need to know
any of that as long as I’m getting the real thing as we build our
relationship.”

She sat up and turned to look him square in the eye.

“You really mean that, don’t you? I mean I read the words, but
hearing them come from you I hear how convincing you are. You
really won’t judge me later, because I will tell you all
someday.”

“That’s not necessary. I just want to get to know you and see if
the magic feeling you’ve given me is real.” Bill told her before
she fell on him and pasted her lips to his.

The kiss was long and getting longer as her tongue slipped into
his mouth and he reciprocated. They could feel the warm contours
of each other’s bodies through their thin pajamas and it was
having a quick effect on both of them. Her nipples were hard as
rocks and she wanted so much to squeeze them, and his pajama’s
were leaving little room for his erection to go. She sat back as
the prong was pushing against her. The points of her tits were
obvious as she looked down at his problem.

She blushed hard and said “The reason neither of us could get any
sleep last night” as she bounced up to her feet and saying “I’ll
pour coffee. . . . . Oh my! You DO drink coffee don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.” He said going to stand up, but sitting down right
away because he had no way to hide his excitement.

“How do you drink your coffee?” She asked raising her voice for
him to hear.

“Black with one sugar, thank you.” He answered.

She came around the corner with 2 cups and she set them on the
coffee table and settled in beside him again, checking from the
corner of her eye if his erection had subsided a bit. She had
been able to give her nipples a hard pinch in the kitchenette to
soothe them, but she already felt them filling with blood again.

“Umm, . .ahh, . . . er . .we’re not doing too well in hiding our
excitement for each other, are we?” She said glancing down at his
obvious problem.

“I’m so sorry.” He apologized, embarrassed.

“God, don’t be sorry, look at me,” She said sitting back straight
to show her points and knowing she could smell her juices,
wondering when they were going to leak through her panty.

“You’re so pretty and sexy and feel so incredible through those
pajama’s, I’m afraid I can’t hide what you’ve done to me. I know
you felt it last night too. It was why I knew I had to leave.” He
admitted.

“Hey, we’re both grownups here. Let’s help each other out with
our problems.” Jaye said bravely.

“OK, I’ll act stupid and say, . . Really? How?” Bill said hoping
he might avoid making a stupid move.

“You know I masturbated last night, and I know you did the same
last night, and here we are trying to hide the obvious from each
other. Why don’t we masturbate for each other,. . . . . . . or
maybe masturbate each other. That’s not too weird is it?” She
nervously asked.

Bill flushed red and hid his eyes for a moment. “You know I’ve
been with lots of women, not that I’m bragging, and I wouldn’t
hesitate to have sex with any of them at this point. But, with
you, I really care for you and doing this is really, really
special. I hope this sounds right, but, I don’t want to fuck you,
I want to make love to you. I can’t use the word “love” yet, but
I think I will soon. I mean, I’m so nervous that I think it’s
going away.” He said looking down at himself.

“I don’t think THAT will last too long.” Jaye said as she pushed
her pajama top up over her head exposing her beautiful tits, like
two perfect scoops of ice cream topped with bright cherries.

“My God, Jaye, you are . . . . . . . . so beautiful, so perfect.”
Bill said as he reached for her to hold her bare chest against
him.

“God Bill, my boobs feel so nice pressed against you. Take off
your shirt so I can feel your skin on mine.” She said panting a
bit.

Bill stood up to take off his shirt and as she predicted, his
erection came back quickly as the front of his bottoms were
tented out. Jaye saw it and smiled and coaxed him to sit. She
turned away from him and leaned back into the crux of his arm so
both of his hands could be filled with her breasts. She reached
down and held his cock through his PJ bottoms.

He massaged her breasts and pinched at the nipples causing her to
squirm and sigh as her hand searched for the slash in his bottoms
to put her hand inside to feel him. Once her hand went around
him, he dropped one hand between her legs and pawed at her pussy
through her pajamas and panty. She craned her neck back to meet
his lips leaving the two of them in an awkward uncomfortable
position trying to reach some sort of sexual relief.

Suddenly she pulled away from him and shinnied her pajamas and
panty down her legs.

“Bill, you’ve GOT to finger fuck me! Let me feel your hands and
fingers inside me, stroking me!” She cried out as Bill squirmed
to the floor on his knees and turned to her, his eyes fixed on
the lightly haired pussy she had just exposed.

He reached for her wet hole and did as she asked, sunk his
fingers in, and began to work her clit while she moaned and
pushed her ass closer to the edge of the sofa. He was working two
fingers in and out of her while his thumb tried to keep pressure
on her clit. She hummed long choruses of satisfaction as he began
to bring her to a crescendo. He watched her squirm and jolt to
his touches and he yearned to taste her, wondering if she might
think that over the line. To ask would have been wrong and the
temptation was more than he could bear. He bent and filled his
mouth with her wet, foamy quim, pressing his tongue hard to her
engorged clit to suck at it. She humped hard at his face and then
froze in a muscled, rigid, quivering, goose pimpled orgasm. After
a few moments she cried out loudly and put a hand to the top of
his head to push him away.

He moved back and looked down at the satisfied, quivering, ball
she had drawn herself up into.

“Oh God Bill, that was the place I haven’t been able to get all
night. You’re so nice, so wonderful. Ohh, Ohh, Ohh.” She swooned
before collecting herself to sit up and look down at him on the
floor.

“Stand up Bill, I’m sure there is something I need to take care
of.” She said quietly.

Bill stood and showed that his cock was already through the slash
in his bottoms. She reach out and took the waist of his pajamas
to brought them down and he stepped out of them.

“I see you need some attention.” She said as reached for his
hardness and began to stroke it.

She scooted up closer to him and began to work her hand in
earnest over him, right in front of her face. She kept looking at
his eyes and then his cock, all the while knowing what he wanted.

“I’ve done this before, but never for me. It’s always to make the
man happy. I was always ashamed. But now, I really want to.” She
said softly, averting her eyes from him.

“Jerking me off?” he asked quizzically.

“No.” She simply said as she leaned up and put the head of his
cock in her mouth. She worked her mouth over it a few times and
looked up at him.

“Don’t think I’m a bad girl for this, you were just so nice to
me, and I just wanted to taste you. Please tell me when you are
close.”

“You look so beautiful doing it, how could I think you were bad?”
He said as he brought his hands to her cheeks as she filled her
mouth over and over again.

He nudged at her mouth, almost like he was fucking it, trying to
get the rhythm he needed to get off. She picked up on his
movement and let him move. Suddenly he stood back and said. “Oh,
I’m close, I’m going to cum!”

Jaye laid back and waited for him to spurt, something she had
never seen in the light and so close.

“Cum onto me, Bill, spray me!” She said urging him to the point
of no return.

Bill moaned loudly as his first spray of pre-fluids went over her
head to the back of the sofa above her head. Then 3 long spurts
of white copious cum splashed onto her body, one between her
breasts and the other two on her belly. She put her hands over
her face and giggled loudly.

“Oh Bill, so much! You drenched me. It feels so warm on me!” she
said in a giggle showing her naiveté of the situation.

Bill stood exhausted over her and he stroke the last drops from
himself down onto her leg. He smiled at her and asked “Where’s
the bathroom? I’ll get a towel.”

She reached beside her and took her pajamas and handed them to
him.

“Here, just use these. They’re dirty anyway.”

Bill wiped her clean and then used them to wipe the end of his
cock as he turned to let himself fall onto the sofa, exhausted.

“I think we BOTH needed that!” He said as he laid back closed his
eyes.

“Are we bad people, getting so naughty, so soon?” She asked.

“It was what we wanted.” He mumbled, “And we saved the most
intimate for when we’re ready.”

“You are so special, Bill.” She said as he hugged up to him.

After a long quiet period she turned her face up to him. “That
was true, what I said. I’ve done that to make my man happy, but I
never wanted to do it, until now. To taste you was so important.
But the end, I couldn’t do that.”

“Never do what you don’t want to. I’ll never pressure you, no man
should. We have a passion, and it’s almost scary. I’d love to say
I love you, but no person knows that in such a short time, but I
want to love you. We can’t do this again for a bit Jaye, we have
to trust our feelings so if we do fall for each other, it’s for
the right reasons. Although I’m getting excited again just seeing
you naked in front of me. You are quite beautiful.”

Suddenly Jaye bounced up. “Come shower with me, it’ll be fun. We
might even get off again. We can go to breakfast, my treat!”

True to her word, it was fun and they did both get off again,
this time masturbating themselves while the other watched under
the hot spray.

They laughed and talked all through breakfast, an uncomfortable
wall broken down in their short, but heavy relationship. Jaye had
to get back to her apartment and prepare to go into work for the
Sunday Night Letter. Bill insisted on picking her up afterwards
so she wouldn’t have to take the train at night. She told him
that once she had the connection correct, she could e-conference
to the meeting, but she really needed to “pay her dues” by
showing up in person a few times as the older partners did and
were accustomed to.

That night when he finally brought her home after stopping for
dinner their goodbye was passionate, but it didn’t leave them
frustrated because they both knew and understood the others
feelings about where they were going and if it might work out.
Jamaica Browne finally felt like a respectable woman with goals
in her professional and personal life. She, once and for all, put
her 8 months of debauchery behind here as a bad, painful, but
valuable, learning experience.

Chapter 25

Selena and Joe were sleeping soundly after a full day of moving
and unpacking, going to dinner and then laughing all through The
Book of Mormon at The Eugene O’Neill Theatre, and then coming
home to make love for the first time in their new condo on their
new sheets and bed. What Joe wasn’t aware of was that Selena had
set the alarm for 5:30am, even though they hadn’t gotten to sleep
until 12:30.

“Ohh Essy, you forgot to turn off the alarm!” Joe howled as the
big voice on the clock radio bellowed the news.

Selena quickly bounced up and moved over Joe propping herself up
over his face.

“The alarm was set on purpose. I’m going in the shower to quickly
wash and do my hair. You’re going to turn on the coffee maker,
it’s all set, and gather our packed bags. Then take a quick
shower if you like, but then we’re leaving here by 6 or a bit
after so we can go to church with my Mom and Dad at 10:00.” She
said through tired, but determined eyes.

“Did I get a vote on this?” He asked.

“Your vote was placed in abstentia. You had fallen asleep after
absolutely tuning my body to perfection and filling me with your
cum. I talked about it from the bidet while I drained you out of
me and when I got back to bed I realized you hadn’t heard a word,
so I voted for you.” She said smiling.

“It’s a good thing you’re cute, but at 5:30, some of that
cuteness is hard to see.” He said in resignation.

With bags already repacked and her plan carried out as she had
planned, they pulled out of the parking garage at 6:03 and were
headed home.

“If we run into any delays, we’ll go to church in these clothes,
otherwise, if we get a moment to get home, church clothes are
laid out on the bed. My Mom helped out a bit in the plan. My Dad
doesn’t know.” She told him as they zoomed through the early New
York streets leading to the Major Deegan Highway and home.

“Diabolical, simply diabolical. Hand me the coffee, I’m ready for
the second cup already, even though I’m sure you won’t let me
stop to pee when it comes around in a hour or so, we wouldn’t
want to miss church.” He said sarcastically.

“When you finish that coffee, the cup will be empty and you can
pee in it.” She said looking away to hide her grin.

“You’re probably serious.” He said smiling to her.

“Depends how late we end up.” She answered coldly, although he
knew she wasn’t serious.

Traffic was light and by the time the hit the Deegan Expressway
and zoomed past Yankee Stadium they were ahead of schedule. The
biggest potential hold-ups, traffic wise, were behind them.
Although she hated to sleep while he drove, she couldn’t help
dozing from time to time, hoping that he didn’t have the same
urge. She jostled awake as the little roadster pulled into a rest
area just north of Newburgh. While she was getting her bearings
Joe leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“I’m stopping to pee, and I’m not going to leave you in the car.
Come on, it’s not too cold to shock you.” He said knowing she had
unbuttoned her coat and slipped off her shoes during the drive.

He came around to her door and helped her and they ran hand in
hand in the morning chill into the building and made a bee line
for the rest rooms. More coffee was tempting but they didn’t
really want to make another stop and they were on their way.

Selena dozed in and out, although she insisted she hadn’t each
time she woke and looked to Joe (I wasn’t sleeping, I just had my
eyes closed!), and when they started to climb the hill past her
parents street and only moments from “home” she was shocked she
had been out during the exit from the Thruway, going through the
toll booth, and stopping at traffic signals getting into town.

“OK, I WAS sleeping then. Holy crap, I was out cold. What time is
it?” She wondered through her fog.

“It’s 20 after 9 and we have plenty of time.” He said as he
pulled through the overhang of trees and shrubs and pulled up the
driveway, hitting the garage door opener as he did.
“Wow, your Dad has the lawn looking awesome. He must have
handpicked the leaves up, I don’t even see one. He needs to get a
hobby.” Joe aid as he admired the perfect landscape.

“He HAS a hobby, taking care of our place. He’s been so happy to
come up knowing we’re alive and well, it’s his joy. He took care
of it before, but it was always depressing. Just be sure you tell
him how good it looks.” Selena said as the car slipped into the
garage and they both gathered their things and got out.

Upstairs it looked the same way it did when they left except it
had all been newly dusted and cleaned causing Joe to look to
Selena and say, “Apparently your mother has a hobby as well.”,
causing them to hug and chuckle.

True to her Mom’s word, clothes were laid out for church just as
Selena asked, but Betty Hanson has put a tie in the sport coat
pocket, not liking the open collar, chain showing look.

“Do you think she would be happy if I wore a Crucifix around my
neck to show on my chest? I really don’t need a tie. Weddings and
funerals, ugh!” Joe muttered as Selena nodded in agreement.


The venture into church went smooth as far as making points with
the Hansons who loved standing together in the pew with their
daughter and son in law. But what they hadn’t calculated was the
congregation’s reaction to them coming in. The church was
three-fourths full when the four of them walked up to one of the
front aisles where the Hansons always sat.

Scott and Betty always presented the gifts at the 10:00 Mass
since they “lost” their daughter in the 911 attacks. Today as Joe
and Selena walked behind Scott and Betty up the aisle there was a
murmur all through the people already seated. As they sat down,
one person started clapping and soon the whole congregation was
clapping and standing. Joe, especially, and Selena could not have
been any more embarrassed as Scott nudged Selena to stand and
acknowledge the accolades. She pulled Joe, reluctantly, up with
her as they turned and waved around to the parishioners, and sat
politely down again.

Joe leaned to Selena and whispered, “If they had anything to do
with this, I know where the tie should be tied, very tight!”

Selena elbowed him and leaned to whisper that she was sure it
wasn’t staged or planned.

During the homily after the Gospel, Father O’Neil made mention of
their presence and made wonder of the power of prayer. Joe
instantly knew that the walk out of church and to their car would
be a long drawn out affair of hand shaking, kissing, and
questioning. He rued the moment the alarm went off that morning
and wondered how they never thought of this possibility of a
“coming out” party.

Scott Hanson was clearly uncomfortable and he leaned across
Selena to speak to Joe.

“I can’t believe your mother in law didn’t think this would
happen. If I had known we would have met at another church over
the river. I’m so sorry.”

Joe tried to look unfettered, but his jaw was steeled. When he
looked past Scott to Betty she was crimson with embarrassment and
on the verge of tears. This was when he decided that it was not
planned and simply a case where Betty hadn’t thought when she
asked Selena for them to join. Although he was far from accepting
what was happening, he would understand, at least to Betty’s
face. He reasoned that as much as he and Selena had been through,
Betty and Scott had been suffered as well and Betty was just
trying to get things back to normal.

At the point in the mass where you extend to your neighbor the
sign of peace, it was customary for each of them to kiss their
wives, daughter and Mother-in-law, as well as shake hands with
their mates. Scott and Selena usually sat down so Joe could lean
over to kiss Betty and wish her “Peace be with you”. Instead Joe
pulled her close to air kiss and said “Don’t fret, we’ll get
through this. I still love my mother-in-law”, while squeezing her
hand.

You could see a veil of shame, personal anger, and embarrassment
lift from her as he smiled to her as Selena and Scott stood to
resume the mass. As Joe fumed inside, he was happy to lift the
blame from Betty and ease her mind. She had tried so hard to be
the non-meddling mother-in-law that her “son” could love and
respect, and Joe knew it. He wouldn’t let her beat herself up
over this.

When it came time for communion as they lined up as each pew
emptied there were many who paused to pat Joe on the back or try
to shake his hand or kiss or hug Selena. Father O’Neil must have
made notice of this because when the mass was over and he usually
made a few closing comments about the upcoming week before he
left the Sacristy, he paused.

“Where I’m sure we are all so glad to have this fine couple of
the Hansons daughter and Mr. Johnson back in our community, they
have really been through a lot as far as media attention and well
wishers. Let’s let them leave the mass today without fanfare.
They’re trying to put their ordeal behind them and get on with
their lives. Instead if each of you who want to give them a
personal greeting would just offer up a prayer of thanks to The
Almighty for their safe return and that will help ease them back
into normalcy. We should all respect each other’s privacy.”

Then he looked right to Joe and Selena and said “God Bless you
both and may you enjoy long happy lives together.”

The congregation abided Fathers suggestion and their exit from
church was smooth and quiet. Father O’Neil customarily stood just
outside and shook hands and exchanged well wishes as the
worshipers left. When Joe came by him he shook his hand hard and
pulled him close to speak quietly in his ear.

“Thanks for the break, I’ll call you in a few weeks about getting
us married before God.”
He said out of everyone’s earshot. He knew how happy this would
make The Hanson’s and Selena. It was something Selena wanted to
bring up, but thought might be a touchy subject with Joe. Joe
knew where and how his bread was buttered and knew what would
score points with them all.

Back at the Hanson house both Scott and Betty were waiting at the
door to apologize for the embarrassing situation. Before they
could say anything Joe spoke up.

“I know mistakes were made in the thought process of getting us
here for mass. I know you hadn’t calculated what might happen and
I know that you know how I feel about such things. We can forget
it, if you don’t bring it up. We did it to make us feel normal
again, we all forgot that people, for the most part, aren’t
normal.” Joe said holding Selena’s hand so they knew the words
came from both of them.

When Joe walked into the kitchen to get coffee a few moments
later, as Selena and Scott set the table, Betty grabbed Joe and
hugged him tightly.

“I know you don’t want to speak of it, but it was my fault. I was
so stupid, I’m sorry.” She said as she finished the hug and
kissed Joe hard on the lips. “Despite what you may have thought
over the years, we really, really love you.”

Joe smiled and even felt a little uncomfortable about her hard
kiss and then took turned her away from the door to speak to her
in private.
“Between me and you, and just me and you, I’m going to meet with
Father O’Neil about a church wedding for us. I’m telling you this
to show you I truly forgive you, but you have to keep it to
yourself, OK?”

Betty kissed Joe again and left with a big smile on her face as
she prepared breakfast. Joe knew he had scored points, big time,
with her.

Soon Betty was dealing poached eggs to the plates and Selena
helped bring out a plate of bacon and home fries. Breakfast was
quiet until both Betty and Scott had their coffees and then talk
turned to the following days shifted Thanksgiving.

“Now, you two don’t have to do a thing for dinner tomorrow, I
have everything planned out.” Betty said.

“Mom, Joe’s going to think I can’t do a thing if you don’t let me
help out. I was going to make your pies, an apple and a pumpkin.
I watch you enough and made them before.” Selena said hoping to
be able to help.

Scott looked up to Betty saying, “See? If you let her help you
won’t have to get up at 4 in the morning to bake tomorrow.”

Joe piped in right away. “Betty, don’t be crazy. We want you to
enjoy this meal, I’d hate to see you fall asleep in the mashed
potatoes. We can make the pies.”

“I can make the pies, me, not we.” Selena insisted, wanting to
assert herself as a homemaker. “I know my way around the kitchen,
even though it doesn’t have computers or calculators.”

“Yes dear, you bake the pies right after you bring me my pipe and
slippers.” Joe said sarcastically.

“Joe, you plan every meal and on weekends when I could do that,
we end up going out.” She pouted.

‘Essy, I’m retired and home all day. You get home from the office
and studio around 6. What am I supposed to do? Hang around and
drink and nap all day?”

“No, but I CAN cook! Let me have my fun for this tomorrow.” She
insisted.

“OK, I won’t help, but for sure Betty, there’s no reason to get
up in the middle of the night to start the Thanksgiving Dinner.
We all should enjoy this.” Joe said giving in but making his
point.

Betty broke into tears as she said. ‘I’m so happy to have the two
of you to cook for I’d stay up all week. Don’t you both realize
what a REAL THANKS-giving this is? The twist of fate that brought
you two back is truly the answer to a prayer we never thought
possible, or even remotely probable.”

Joe looked to Selena who put out her hand for him and then she
reached for her Dad’s hand and soon the four of them were joined
hand in hand with their heads bowed as the gravity of what Betty
said hit home.

After their quiet interlude of prayer they finished their
breakfast in relative quiet, save for some small talk. Nothing
could compare with Betty’s words for now.

As soon as Selena and Joe left Betty quickly went to the kitchen
the clear the breakfast dishes and prep so she could begin to
make her big dinner for Monday. As she stood at the sink she
thought about how dirty Joe still made her feel. To her, he was
naughty sex, going back to the day when she sat with him
following the surgery where she was his ride and proxy. His
sexuality was overt in her mind and each time she saw him she was
reminded of it. She knew she still looked good and felt
desirable. Although she would never cheat on her husband, that
day she would have thrown herself at Joe. Right now she was ready
to be taken; she only hoped that Scott was as horny as she was.
She couldn’t wait for him to come into the room, and she heard
him shuffling in with coffee  cups
clinking in each hand from the living room where the 4 of them
finished their small talk about the next day’s Monday
Thanksgiving celebration.

“I’m a little jealous of my daughter, going away on that sexy
vacation, just the two of them alone getting sexed up whenever
they want.” Betty said uncharacteristically.

“We don’t have to leave the country to have sex Betty, we can
have it right here.” He said rather blandly as he was going back
to read the paper.

“Right HERE?” She said slapping her hand down on the edge of the
counter, causing Scott to turn back to her.

“Yes,” He said “Right here in the house”, smiling.

“How about right here on the counter, right now? That’s how
they’re going to do it. Everywhere, whenever they want.
Spontaneous!” She said fully turned facing him with a smile on
her face.

“What are you saying Betty?” He asked with a sly smile on his
face.

“Like when we were young. Take down my panties and I sit on the
edge of the counter. I love you Scott and thinking about my
daughter getting it on all week has got me a little envious.”

Scott went over and took Betty in his arms and kissed her deeply.
Her ran his hands over her ass and below to find the edge of her
dress. He slid it up over her ass and then gripped her waist,
picking her up as she asked and set her on the edge of the
counter. She used her hands to lift herself up as he grabbed the
sides of her panties and pulled them down. As he gazed at her
glistening lips through her well trimmed cover of hair he grabbed
his cock through his pants, already hard from her suggestions. He
quickly undid his belt and let his pants fall to the floor. He
stepped out of them and kicked the step-up she used to reach the
top cupboard over to get himself at her level.

Eagerly she reached out and took him in her hand and guided him
to her waiting slit. He pushed, she grunted and she reached out
to encircle his neck with her hands.

“Scottie, we’ll never get old as long as we can do this.” She
purred into his ear.

“I’m sorry for the years I wasn’t interested. I never stopped
loving you.” He panted back. “Religion made it seem . . . .”

“Shut up and fuck me Scott. God gave us this gift and he wouldn’t
want us to deny ourselves.” She said as she humped up and almost
lifted herself off the counter, hanging around Scott’s neck.

With Scott nearly holding all of her weight as her ass left the
counter Betty rutted on Scott like a co-ed at a kegger. She
wouldn’t tell Scott that being near her son-in-law was what lit
her fuse and making her act so wanton. Betty didn’t look close to
her late fifties age and could easily pass for early thirties and
had the body some twenty-somethings might envy. While gray hair
and a few forehead wrinkles denied Scott of looking less than his
sixty, his body showed no fat and he was well toned and downright
muscular in many ways. They could easily pass as the brother and
sister of Selena and Joe.

Scott held Betty by the balls of her supple ass as he felt his
orgasm building and she rutted on him. He stepped forward, for
fear of dropping her and let her bottom set on the counter as he
doubled up his effort thrusting hard at her as he shot her full
of his semen. Betty had thrown her head back, accidentally
bumping it on the cupboard door, as her orgasm came and she let
it take her while Scott thrust his cock to her, depositing his
load.

As their breathing returned to normal and they eased from their
states of euphoria Betty blushed deeply.

“God, that was like college days! We must have made love
everywhere in our dorms, the counters, the tables . . . . . .
when I get aroused like that I feel 25 again. Why don’t we have
sex every day?”

“Because we’re both pushing 60 and our libido isn’t what it used
to be.” He laughed.

“I’ll bet if you woke up with my mouth on your cock you might
feel inspired.” She said with a sly smile curling at the edge of
her mouth.

“Just before 911 we went through one of these honeymoon spells
where we were at each other’s business all the time. Do you think
we have another one in us?” Scott wondered aloud.

“If we never stop it, how will it end? I’ll tell you Scott; I
could go up in the bedroom and amuse myself until you were ready
again, over and over. Sexually, I feel 25 again. I don’t want
this to end. Why would I worry about getting old if my body, and
your body, could make me feel like this?” She swooned.

Suddenly a loud plop was heard and Scott knew instantly what it
was. The metal step stool he was standing on was being bombed
from above. Wads of his cum were leaking from around his cock
that was still stuffed inside his wife.

“We’re making a mess.” Scott laughed as he stood back and let his
softening cock fall from her pussy.

“Don’t worry, I’ll clean it up.” Betty said as she stunned Scott
by hopping down from the counter to her knees and taking his cum
covered cock into her mouth to taste her juices along with his.

Despite thinking he couldn’t go at her again, her mouth woke his
ardor again and he felt himself getting stiff in her mouth again.
She was making animal noises over her satisfaction of tasting
their passion and him growing in her mouth. When the head was
round and fat she turned her attention to just that, working it
like a lollipop. When she was sure he could get no bigger she
wordlessly looked at him and spun around on her knees and threw
up the back of her dress over her ass and lowered her shoulders
to the floor.

Scott needed no invitation as he fell to his knees, kneeling
between her legs and pushing himself into her sopping pussy as
she squealed like a horny college girl as any fears of Scotts
“libido” problems faded.

With their daughter and her husband safe and sound after thinking
they had lost them, their passion for each other was re-lit and
Betty was already determined to do whatever she could to keep her
husband interested. Oral sex made her feel like a naughty
teenager, and that was fine with her. Feeling naughty around
Scott had always paid rewards. Just over 10 years prior, their
sex life was dead, then it flourished, and after 911 it was hit
and miss as they struggled to support each other. Now Betty felt
like a co-ed again in the body she took such good care of.

While her Mom and Dad busy making up time in the passions
department, Selena Johnson was getting the last few things from
the little blue roadster to bring in.

“That’s the last of it.” Selena said as she set a small carry
case and two store bags on the sofa where Joe was sitting reading
e-mail alerts on his phone.

“The overseas markets are soft. I’m glad I’m not playing too
heavy over there right now, I’ll sleep better in Jamaica.” He
said shaking his head.

“You’re NOT supposed to be playing there at all, REMEMBER?” She
said lightly scolding him to make a point.

“We’re retired and don’t need to risk anything, anymore. Low risk
securities, that’s all. We don’t need to make it so I HAVE to
work.” She said reminding him of the master plan they had since
just before terrorists scuttled their plans.

“I’m not taking any big risks, just a few things to keep me
interested. I would need to go absolutely crazy to put the future
in jeopardy, you know that.” He said not even looking up.

“I also know YOU, Joe Johnson. You’ve never done anything
half-way. I’m not so worried about the money; I want to keep you
away from the “drug”. If you’re already concerned about sleep in
Jamaica, you’re playing too hard. Besides the portfolios we set
up to pay us the rest of our lives, how much extra do you have in
play?” She asked as she went up to him, hands on hips, knowing he
was in trouble because he didn’t tip his head to look her in the
eye.
“I’m not sure. You know the master account only grew 6% from the
day we “left” until it was all recounted and put back in our
names. The properties took a hit with the state of the world
economy, and your Mom and Dad drained $600K from the cash
account.” Joe said in defense of his financial dawdling’s.


Selena exhaled hard and reached, taking his i-phone from Joe’s
hand. Joe went to fight her for it, but thought the better before
he made a move for it.

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m not some bimbo you
picked up and now you’re flashing numbers and percentages around
to woo her into the sack. If the world economy grew by 6% over
that time we might have considered it a BOOM compared to what we
have right now. You bought the properties at “steal” prices and
they doubled in value, even though no one was buying anything and
money was soft. Now they still are worth a bit more than we paid,
have netted enough to buy them over again twice as rentals. All
that while real estate investors all over the world were jumping
out of windows rather than face their losses. You have huge balls
to bring up my parents. They took $60K a year and put themselves
in a 35% tax bracket with their other incomes and probably spent
MORE than that in upkeep of this place. You may be able to make
your numbers talk and sound like we were headed to the poorhouse,
but on the whole, we look like the smartest investors in the
world from the plans we made and how my Dad managed it. So answer
the question, HOW MUCH IS IN PLAY?”

“Uhhhh, . . . . Oh come on, don’t be pissed. You know long term
we’re in no trouble.” He said as he reached for his phone, but
she pulled it back.

“Joe! How about your health?” She said as she put the phone
behind her and used the other hand to grab hold of the button row
on his shirt, making sure he knew he wasn’t escaping without
talking about this. “Stress is your biggest enemy, as healthy as
you are, you know both your Mom and Dad were pre-disposed to all
that stress baggage and it’s the one thing Doctors warn you of,
because family history says there’s no escaping it. We don’t NEED
to recoup any losses, especially losses we didn’t really have.
Now give me the figure.”

Joe knew who he was dealing with and sugar coating was out of the
question.

“$725K” He said, resigned to the fact she would blow a fuse.

She didn’t blow the fuse, but it was clearly lit and burning
towards the powder keg.

“You may as well start snorting cocaine, as deal with this stuff.
I know you deal smart, but you KNOW you can’t stop once you start
with your little day trades, buy and sell speculation deals
trying to prove to yourself how smart and canny you are.” She
started quietly, “But that’s over HALF of the cash fund that’s
supposed to make life smooth and happy for us. WHEN WERE YOU
GOING TO TELL ME?” She shouted to his face.

“When I got everything back and I was happy with the cash fund
total. I thought 2 mil was a nice round figure.” He said trying
to add a little humor, but she was in no mood.

“Let’s go right back there, right now and start divesting
yourself of this. I don’t care if we take a loss or not. We have
1.4 million, MILLION!, in an account for play money, expense
money, walking around money, and ONLY YOU would think that wasn’t
enough. People starve all over the world, lose their homes and
life savings and we live as the most fortunate people on the
planet, yet you aren’t satisfied. You have a sickness. You buy a
billion shares at a dime and sell them at 11 cents and you get a
hard-on, you’re so proud. But if you have to sell it at 9 cents
you don’t sleep for a week and worry yourself into a stroke. WE
DON’T NEED ANY MORE MONEY TO SATISFY YOUR EGO!” She said as she
took his hand and half pulled and half led him to the computer
banks in the back room.

“Sit and sell!” She commanded. “You’re supposed to be retired and
once you retired I thought the days of you checking stocks
incessantly had passed. I like to dabble the market as much as
anyone and we played together for a long while, but you promised
to stop once you retired and gave up the company. Remember, you
bought the houses so we could just travel once I got out?”

“But, Selena, you’re still in! You’re going to finish your
commitment and I’m stuck again in the condo twiddling my thumbs.
I need a hobby!” Joe said beginning to get pissed, but trying to
avoid a drag out fight that she was clearly in market for.

“Joe, a hobby is playing around with 1 or 2 percent of our play
pot, NOT HALF!” She said forcefully, and then she turned sullen,
almost turning a little white.

“Listen, I have to tell you something that I promised to keep to
myself, but under the circumstances it’s not right. It’s never
mattered before. Back when you have the knee reconstruction at
Lenox Hill Doctor Payne told me something. Your Uncle Don died of
a mysterious heart ailment at a young age, and then your Dad had
a car accident and died fairly young. Dr. Payne says that your
Dad probably had a heart attack that caused the car accident. It
was something that wasn’t supposed to be published because of the
will and everything. Accidental death and a lifestyle related
death could have made a difference.”
She began as Joe was shocked at what he was hearing.

“WAIT! What does this have to do with me NOW and what kind of
balls does Bill Payne have not telling me!” Joe shouted.

“Calm down, calm down! Just listen to me. When Bill Payne was
doing your pre-surgery screening, he thought he would check back
on some family history because both your Mom and Dad dealt with
hypertension. When he looked at the coroner’s report he saw a
discrepancy in dates. The coroner was an acquaintance and he
called him just wondering why the autopsy report was published
and the coroner waited 4 days to file. After being a bit elusive,
he told him that they had a second autopsy report filed because
the first showed he had some sort of attack. He back tracked a
little and found the information on his brother, your Uncle. He
just told me that for your own good, you should try and avoid
stress, especially once you hit 50. Since the only stress in your
life was female companionship and worrying about stocks, I
thought I was home free once you said you were retiring. Even
Bill Payne admits that your Uncle’s death and your Dad’s death
may not be even close to be related, but Bill really likes you
and although he could never tell you anything officially, because
it would put a few careers in jeopardy, he told me. He even did
it in a round-a-bout matter where I could never pin him down.
Actually no one knew if there was a lifestyle clause in the
insurance, it’s just your Father knew LOTS of people, and they
looked out for him, and you. Now, I want to drop all of this talk
because it scares the shit out of me.”

“So, do I need to go and get checked out for anything, am I a
walking time bomb?”

“No, no, he said nothing like that, just that we should be aware
and be careful. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to have a heart
work-up, but you’ve been through constant medical supervision for
almost 10 years, and had two major surgeries on your knees since,
even so, Bill’s words have always hung with me. Seeing you look
like you did a few minutes ago reminded me of when we first
started going out, all nerved up over stocks, and it alarmed me.”
She said softly as she moved to sit on Joe’s lap and hug him
tightly, like he might go away right then.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going away that easy, that soon. We’ve got
a lot of love to make. I promise.” Joe whispered to her.

“Can you make me one more promise?” She asked.

“For you, baby, anything!”

“Don’t get upset, I already promised I wouldn’t beg you on this,
but, can we go and see our daughter soon? I promise I won’t make
a scene, I just want to SEE her.” Selena asked as tears started
to flow.

“That’s a big order, and one we said we wouldn’t push, but if it
means that much, let me see what I can do. Don’t make me promise,
but I’ll do whatever I can. It would be great just to see her,
what she’s like.” Joe said hugging Selena tightly.

“I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve been waking up at night and thinking
about her. I’m resolved to the situation and know I can’t change
it. When you love someone you don’t even know it’s . . . . . .”
She was trying to explain but Joe stopped her with a finger to
her lips.

“I understand, I go through the same thing. Let’s not dwell on
it. We have Thanksgiving and a honeymoon to plan and enjoy.” Joe
whispered.

“A honeymoon? We’ve never called this a honeymoon, but I suppose
you could. I’d love to get married in a church with all our
friends there and go on a real honeymoon.” She said staring off
into space.

“I’m going to take care of that, and I’ve even started the ball
rolling. Don’t question me, but I’m working on that. Just know
that I promised you and I’m working on it.”

Selena couldn’t hold her emotions anymore and turned on his lap
hugging him tightly around his neck while crying happy tears that
ran down her cheeks like rain.

Chapter 26

In tiny Horicon, New York a young girl pushed her pencil writing
an essay for school. In her composition book she wrote about the
effects on the world brought about by the 911 attacks on the
United States. She was happy her mother had bought her a bound
composition book as she was left handed and having to lay her arm
across the wire spiral always caused her pain and left the lines.
She was happy that she had been allowed to use her mother’s
laptop for research, for as much as a nine year old would delve
into a subject. But this 9 year old was especially smart and
wanted to follow up on a story she had seen Bryan Willhelm of NBC
tell about on the school news feed they saw each week in History
studies. It was about 2 people who survived the 911 attacks, but
were not identified as such for almost 10 years. She remembered
the name Edison as one of the hospitals because they had studied
Thomas Edison and she considered him a real hero of hers, because
she had quite the inquisitive mind and couldn’t wait until she
could participate in her first science fair, now that she was in
5th grade. Not many knew she was 8, going on 9, as she acted and
looked mature for her age. She had been pushed along because he
was so advanced when she went to 1st grade. Her mother had taught
pre-schoolers in her day care and she was there to participate
from early on. Her aptitude was incredible. When she was 8 her
body started changing like some of her older classmates and on
that 8th birthday, her mother and father took her aside to inform
her that she had been adopted. They had planned to wait until she
was 12 or 13, but she was already a “little adult” in so many
ways.  She questioned who her mother was and was told what they
knew as the truth, her mother had died in childbirth. The only
knew she had come from New Jersey.

Searching the internet with little information is easy when you
have the right key words, and Edison, 911 attacks, brought you to
the story of Joe Johnson and linked you to Selena Johnson and
their press conference where they told the world of what had
happened to them. She clicked on the link to Selena Johnson and
thought for a moment she had found a mirror on the internet.
There, save for a bit of maturity in the lines in her face, was a
picture of herself.

As smart and perceptive as the young girl may have been, the
thought of finding her “real mother” never really crossed her
mind. The only person she ever thought of as her mother was there
for her every day. When her parents told her that she was adopted
it caused little mental trauma since she was as happy and
contented as could be, and maybe caused her to love her parents
more for saving her from a life of orphanages and foster homes.

She looked at the beautiful woman Selena Johnson was and marveled
at how closely she resembled herself. She smiled as she looked at
the You Tube press conference and saw the woman walk out to the
press table and then walk back into her home. She was very
attractive and she knew her own little body was budding breasts
already and her hips were taking shape. When she saw her she
hoped she might be as pretty someday as the woman in the video.

Smart and perceptive, yes. But she was still naïve enough to
think that her mother told her that her real Mom had died and
that was that. Realities of heredity, physical likeness, and
medical traits passed on, even heritage, never really crossed her
mind. She and her adoptive Mom shared the golden hair and blue
eyes and no one could ever question an obvious difference in the
two, they bore so many similar features. But, although she was
not aware of it, a seed of thought had been planted in her head.


Selena stood by while Joe began to sell off the holdings he had
unwisely bought secretively. While Selena trusted him she wanted
to be sure he did as he promised he would. Buying and selling of
stocks could be his hobby, but not his job, and 2% was his limit
for investing.

While Selena was always aware of what Dr. Payne had told her, it
never really crossed her mind until she saw the look on his face
and furrow in his brow that day. Losing Joe now, after all they
had been through, would certainly break her spirit to a point she
may not recover. After all he had been through if something was
serious, it would have shown up, but there had to be a reason Dr.
Payne made his comments.

Selena was finishing closing the third large travel case when Joe
came around the corner to tell her that the last of his divesting
would take effect Monday morning. Before he could get the words
out he was taken by the size of the 3 cases.

“My God, are you bringing furniture too?” He said startled.

“No, smart ass! A lot of this stuff is for New York. Two cases
back in New York are going to Jamaica, and one of these. The
other two are for the colder months. If UPS gets them tomorrow
they’ll deliver them on Tuesday or Wednesday.” She said snapping
back at his comment.

“Lordy, for a place where we’ll be naked more than dressed, we
sure are bringing a lot of clothes.”

“We’ll be going out to dinner and clubs, won’t we?” She said as
she turned and hung her arms around his neck. “You want me to
look nice, don’t you? Shouldn’t I look . . . . . um,
fuck-able for you?”

“You look fuck-able right now, in a sweater and slacks.” He said
as he ran his hands over the roundness of the ass he loved so
much to watch and fondle.

“Joey, don’t tease me like that! We rode in the car all morning,
drank so much coffee between the trip and my Mothers that I’ve
had to pee 4 times and poo twice. I want to shower before making
love and we don’t have time right now.” She whined.

“Wow, thanks for the graphic images, I’m sort of losing interest
anyway, . . . . NOW!” He said as he turned to leave the room.

He got one step up the hallway when he heard her call back.

“Joe? Can you help me with one thing?”

“It doesn’t have to do with bodily waste, does it?” He said as he
backtracked and looked into the room.

There was Selena on her knees and her sweater thrown off onto the
floor while she fondled her gorgeous breasts.

“I AM a little hungry and could use a protein snack to show my
honey how much I really do love him.” She said devilishly.

“Is this to make up for the scolding and financial emasculating
you did earlier, or to soften me to add another bag for the
trip?” He said snidely.

“Fuck You!” She said as she stood and picked up her sweater and
turned to bring it over her head and back down her body.

“That was SUPPOSED to be a real show of affection and how much I
love you. I ‘m not some whore who uses her talents to open doors
and get her way. You were WAY out of line on the stock deals,
using OUR money to satisfy your cravings. PLUS, I was looking out
for your own well being. As far as the bags, I’ll pack as many
suitcases as I like for our trip as I TRY TO LOOK NICE FOR YOU!
But at this point your chance of getting laid in Jamaica is
pretty slim. If you’re THAT upset of the stocks fiasco, let’s
talk about it, but you know that I’m right on every level.” She
said as she rushed past Joe and went to the bathroom where he
clearly heard her crying.

Joe felt like shit as he saw what his attempt at humor had cost
him. He hadn’t meant to sound as catty as the words came across.
He had clearly misjudged her mood and temperament on the
situation. The last thing he would want to do would be to hurt
her with words, or at all. She was his life. Her tirade was so
unexpected that he was left stunned and speechless as she had
rushed by him.

“Selena? Essy, sweetheart? Something happened here that clearly
was misunderstood. After the words came out of my mouth I
realized how they sounded but before I could backtrack you blew
up in my face and you stunned me. Honey, I never EVER, want to
hurt you in any way. Especially with words. I know the pain and
heartache of life without you, and you without me. I was making
light of a situation that clearly was harder for you to execute
than I judged.” He said at the door, hoping she might listen and
come out to talk.

“YOU DON’T THINK IT HURT ME TO HAVE TO DO THAT TO YOU? I know the
things you love to do and the things that satisfy you. Pulling
the rug from under you was, possibly, the hardest thing I’ve had
to do in our marriage and I had to do it in a way where I could
show you how MUCH I love you. PLUS, I promised Dr. Payne that I
would NEVER tell you what I told you. Ethically, he could be
stripped of his license and only the fact he respects you so much
made him do it. I violated that trust, and hurt you by doing so.
I was so worried that you might take the situation as something
emasculating and when you seemed contrite and understanding I was
relieved you hadn’t taken it that way. THEN, you accuse me of
using sex as a weapon or peacemaker bribe and say I “emasculated”
you after you said you understood. Right now I’d rather be in the
haze I was in at Hampden than have to deal with the reality of
this, AND TO HAVE YOU MAKE LIGHT OF IT WHEN I WANTED TO MAKE LOVE
TO YOU, just tears me apart.” She said through the door, starting
to build to a rage again but quickly softening her tone as she
continued.

“Essy, what you think happened, didn’t. Please understand. I
would never cheapen sex like that. You HAVE to know that about
me. Come ON! You’re acting like I’m a stranger you hardly know.
Think about this! You had just made note of how many times you
had peed and pooped today in an effort to sway me from an
afternoon quickie and I turn to see you look so sexy a second
later, I was just trying to make light of the situation.” Joe
said loudly to the door.

There was a long silence and then he saw the door handle turning.
It stayed fully turned, obviously with weight on it, and then it
opened with the tear stained face of Selena coming into view.

“Your words tore my heart apart! I told myself that I hoped he
doesn’t think I emasculated him, and when you seemed to
understand I was relieved. Then you used that same word in your
poorly chosen time to make a “joke”, especially when I was
offering you my mouth to make love to. How could you be so
coarse?, was what I asked myself. Now in putting things in
perspective, I know that wouldn’t be you, BUT, choose your words
better in the future. I may be a little more sensitive than
before, my emotions are thinner after 9 years of confusion. . . .
. . . . . OK?” She said from the doorway, not committing herself
to coming out.

Joe simply held out his arms as if to invite her to them as his
answer. She slowly stepped out and quickly wrapped her arms
around him, crying again.

Joe held her tight and they communicated wordlessly of their
feelings. Joe’s mind reeled of this change in her emotional make
up, never wanting to see her hurt like this again. His 9 year
hiatus from life seemed only a few weeks in his mental make-up.
She counted and knew of nearly each day of the entire time with
no outlet for her anguish.

Selena pulled back to look Joe in the eye, tears streaming down
her cheeks. “I KNOW you would never treat me like that and
whatever possessed me to think you did just overwhelmed me. Maybe
I’m still a mental case. I’m so focused at work, so centered. Why
can’t I grasp this with you?”

“Selena, remember when you saw the painting and dedication in the
store room? It isn’t just with me. You’ve got some little quirks
in your emotions and after all the inner anguish and drugs you
had over those years, it’s understandable. Just hard wire in your
head that I’m your center and not your enemy.” Joe whispered.

“I know that and it somehow just escapes me when that little fuse
blows. I just snap and it’s like someone else is in control.” She
said candidly.

“We have to speak to Philly and have you explain this to her,
tell her about “blowing a fuse” if you really feel like it’s
something you can’t control.”

“It isn’t that I can’t control it, it’s that I feel like I’m
watching these things happen from afar to someone else.” She
continued in her candid self diagnosing process.

“Come, you have to write these things down, while they’re still
fresh.” Joe said taking her hand to lead her to a table in the
hall outside this bathroom.

He took a notepad from the drawer and jotted down a few of her
words as he remembered them. Then she took the pen and looked
where he had written, “watching from afar at someone else”. She
added “aware of blowing a fuse, with no control” and then stood
looking into space pensively for a long moment.

“There, I think those are the salient points of those thoughts I
expressed. Thank you for being you, being my center, Joe. I know
that right now at  this point of my life, my recovery, I couldn’t
get by without you. That’s why Bill Payne’s words haunt me so.”
She said turning to Joe again and holding him tightly as if for
dear life.

“Why don’t you go and lay down for a bit?”

“No, I should stay busy, try to think less about it, get my mind
back to what I was doing.” She insisted as she walked back to the
spare bedroom where she was packing.

She stopped and turned to him and pulled her sweater up and over
her head.
“Come here, my dear husband. I have unfinished desires, and
you’re one of them. Let me show you how much I love you.” She
said as she dropped to her knees and reached for him.

“I know how much you love me.”

“But when we’re one and I feel your sweet heart beating on my
tongue, hear you groan in ecstatic pleasure, and taste the very
juices you make from your excitement for me, it fulfils me in a
special way like no other sensation.” She cooed while reaching
for his belt buckle with one hand and feeling for his cock
through his pants with the other.

“You make it hard to resist.” He laughed.

“Why would you resist?” She said as she fished out his cock and
fit the flat of her tongue on the underside of it while smiling
before she closed her whole mouth over it.

“Argrrgh, Ooooo, gosh you wouldn’t. That feels so good!” he said
reacting to the rush.

As she felt him grow in her mouth her hands went to his waist and
pulled his zipper down the rest of the way and began to work his
pants and underwear over his butt. At one point she had to let
his cock free to let his pants fall, but it was only for a split
second. She then brought her hands up hold the cheeks of his ass
as she ran her mouth in short strokes over the head of his cock.

At one point she began to go deeper with feathered breathing
before she hunched up, almost touching him to the back of her
throat. He knew she had an orgasm by only having him in her
mouth. She truly loved and devoted herself to him that much, a
fact that never failed to amaze him, but he loved her with equal
fervor. Seeing her orgasm made him that much more excited and he
felt himself beginning to sway his hips just a bit to meet her
mouth. The head of his cock became turgid, almost unable to
accept the sensations she offered and without warning he spilled
his seed in her mouth as she tightened her lips around him to
milk him. When she sensed her was through she backed to just
holding the head in her mouth and she looked up to him, swirling
her tongue around him once more, knowing the super sensation it
would cause as he backed from her, almost tripping over his
ankled pants.

“You are SO amazing and I love you so much.” He said through a
graveled voice.

She only smiled and sat back on her haunches to show the dark
spot on her light slacks, she was so wet from her orgasm.

“There’s a LOT of that going around. How are we going to get
anything done if we keep fooling around like this?” She said
laughing as she got up and pulled her sweater over her head and
on again.

She kissed him deeply and said, “You skedaddle so I can finish
packing here. Then I’ll go up and start the pies. When I give you
the shopping list, which there’s bound to be, you can pick up
dinner while you’re out. After we’ve finished dinner and the pies
come out, we can shower and go to bed. Somewhere in there I have
to tap into the Sunday Night Letter meeting, too.”

Joe barely heard her, as he was frazzled from her draining him.
He was up and into the living room sofa within minutes and
asleep. The early hours and events of the day had earned him a
nap.

Joe heard cupboards opening and pans clanging that disturbed his
sleep, but until Selena went out and shook him, he was not fully
awake.

“Wake up sleepy head, I need you to go to the store for me. I
must have really worn you out before.” She said before falling
into the sofa beside him.

She kissed his smiling face and snuggled him. “You were delicious
this afternoon. When I first started tasting you as you began to
work up, I came right in my pants. I knew you would be special.
After we shower tonight you can do the same thing to my pussy, I
need to feel your tongue there.” She teased.

“Essy! Stop it! I have to go shopping for you and I’ll have a
hard-on all the while.” Joe said as he broke from her snuggle and
stood up.

She giggled and got to her feet and went to the kitchen to get
the list for Joe. He put on his coat and was gone in a flash.
When he returned 40 minutes later he had 2 plastic shopping bags
and a large paper handle bag that smelled of something hot and
delicious.

“The Episcopal Church had a sign out for a Pork Supper so I got
two to go and it smells awesome. They had everything you needed
at the store as well.” He said as he set the bags on the counter.
 Selena only smiled and took the supplies out as Joe began to lay
out the hot meals for them.

Joe called her to eat and she was still quiet and had a curious
grin on her face.

“What is going on with you? You’ve had a poop eating grin on your
face since I came back and hardly said a word.” Joe wondered.

“Apparently my orals skills may be hereditary. I looked high and
low for the ceramic pie plates and called my Mom to see if she
had pirated them away. She had and I told her I would be right
down to get them and she told me to be quick and quiet, my Dad
was down for a nap and she was going to join him before she got
up and did the stuffing later. That sounded odd to me, but when I
went down she met me at the door and just stuck her head out with
the pie plates. You’ll think this is awful, but she had cum
breath and definitely smelled like sex.”

“Are you sure? That’s your Mother you’re talking about.” Joe said
with a grin as he scolded her.

“Joe, I’ve eaten enough of yours to call myself a gourmet of the
stuff, and I’ve had cum breath enough to know what it smells
like. I’m not upset, I’m glad the two of them are still getting
it on. My Mom looks awesome, I see you checking her out all the
time, I’m not stupid. I should look so good at her age and feel
so sexy. Don’t deny it Joe. If you were free to cruise and saw
her out, you would be all over her.”

Joe just smiled a shit eating grin and nodded.

They finished dinner and Joe sent her off to get into the pies
while he cleaned up before he settled into some television. Once
she got them into the oven, she fired up her laptop and joined in
the Sunday Night Letter meeting in New York. Thinking Joe might
be sleeping, she kept her comments short and concise. The fact
that Jaye Browne was there in person was not lost on her. She
winked into the camera to her, hoping she saw it. She spent 45
minutes in the meeting and heard her timer go off and Ross told
her to sign off and enjoy her night.

Joe found his easy chair and the TV and after an hour or so he
couldn’t help but reminisce with the smells coming from the
kitchen. It reminded him of home, with his Mom and Dad, and the
great Holidays they spent together. Whatever was on TV just
served as background noise to his thoughts and memories. As the
last pie came out and Selena finished cleaning the kitchen she
looked out and saw Joe not really watching the TV, but staring
out the big picture window. When she went out to get him for bed
she saw his eyes were wet and full of tears, but they seemed to
be happy tears.

“Are you OK?” She said putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes,” He said as he placed a hand over hers. “Just thinking of
my Mom and Dad. All the smells brought me back to a lot of
Thanksgivings and Christmas’s. Good memories, but nostalgic and
sorry they still aren’t around.”

“They would be proud of you, for all you’ve done, how you took
care of the company like he wanted, and us too. I’m sure they
wanted to see you settle down.” Selena said before leaning over
and kissing his cheek and whispering, “I’m getting in the shower;
you follow me and meet me in bed, my lover.”

Joe heard the water start and he got up and straightened up a bit
and looked in at the pies cooling with towels over them to
protect them, just like his Mom would do. He puttered a bit more
and heard the water go off and he headed for the bedroom. As he
undressed, Essy came out in a sheer dressing gown and smiled at
him. He took the cue and went right into the bath and got under
the hot spray, anxious to be with Selena in bed.

 Under the shower Joe Johnsons mind wandered as he rinsed the
day’s grit from himself.
“700K, what the fuck was I thinking, and to think she wouldn’t
care? I mean, I knew she would be a little pissed, but holy shit,
she flipped.  She really hates that she told me what Bill had
said about Dad. I know Uncle Don died young from a heart attack,
but they never said it was genetic. I’ll have to bite my tongue
with Bill around. Lynn always said that Marel, her mother,
probably screwed him to death.” He chuckled to himself. “She told
me once she was able to figure a way out of her room to peek
around, she saw her screw a couple guys a week, leaving her cash
and gifts. I know Lynn hocked a couple diamond bracelets that
Marel never even missed. Once Lynn knew we weren’t really blood
cousins, she knew she had the right person to experiment with
what she saw her mother enjoying. No wonder I was so fucked up
with women. Thank God for Selena, God I love her.”

Joe finished his musings and shower simultaneously, getting out
to dry off and spot a little deodorant under his arms. He left
the bathroom naked and looked into the bedroom to see Selena
stretched out, looking for Joe. Her hands were full of her
breasts, massaging them and pinching at the nipples.

“I’m saving my pussy for you, but hurry, I’ll need handcuffs to
keep my fingers out in a few seconds.” Selena said in a staccato
breathy voice.

Joe never said a word, he just went to the bed and knelt on the
bottom edge and put both hands on each of her thighs, encouraging
them apart as he dropped his mouth to her sopping vagina. His
tongue found the groove and he pushed hard into it and dragged
his tongue up and through, kissing her engorged clit.

Selena bucked on the bed and pushed her torso to his mouth as he
went to work lapping up her juices and pleasuring her lips and
clit as she seemed to vibrate in an unstoppable orgasm. He
hunched up and got her to raise and spread her legs. He dropped
his tongue across her asshole, making her jolt, but he had done
what he intended, got it wet enough to slip a finger in. As he
massaged her clit and mopped the juices from her slit he stuck a
finger sharply up her little hole. She jolted hard and he felt an
ooze of warm cream on his tongue. He let some run out and down to
his finger to help slide it in and out faster as her ass came off
the bed to his mouth. She held it there as her orgasm continued
and then she suddenly pushed his head away.

“One more stroke in my hiney and I’ll beg you to fuck me there,
and we’re saving that for Jamaica. Get up here and make love to
me.” She swooned.

Joe thought she may have expected him to present his cock to her
mouth to get it hard, but he was cast iron already as she writhed
and begged under him.

He lurched up placing a hand on either forearm pinning her back
as his cock found her slippery hole and he lunged in. He fucked
her with wanton energy as the only sound in the room was the
slush of his penis in her waiting hole. Her mouth was attached to
his neck, muffling her passionate cries. Only when he became
aware of a possible giant hickey did he bounce up and flip her
like a rag doll to her knees and plunge into her once again, this
time with the loud slap of his middle to the backs of her thighs.
Her mouth was open wordlessly as her throat leaked guttural
sounds under the onslaught. When he knelt back on his haunches
and pulled her up with him the creamy white skin of her round ass
came into the light cast by the bathroom nightlight.

“Whack, whack, whack!” rang out in the room as his right hand
cracked down on right buttock. She hissed at the pain of the
slaps, but then giggled a bit, inviting three more, her lovely
cheek now illuminated in red as it traveled in and out of the
light. Joe admired his work and then let a blob of spit drop from
his mouth to her ass groove. It no more than hit her little hole
when he forced his thumb straight up her pretty chute, causing
her to cry out.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” She
cried at each thrust as he felt her asshole grab at his thumb.
Joe wanted to continue but he felt his orgasm rising fast and
pulled from her pussy and let a long volley of cummy mess stream
all the way up to her neck, and the next in the center of her
back, before he collapsed onto her, reaching around to hold her
breasts and then roll back to have her on top of him, both
spread-eagled facing the ceiling. She reached down and found his
softening cock under her and pushed it to her asshole as if to
push it in. He felt the head spread her open but quickly fall
out. It just wasn’t to be that evening.

Once their breathing began to synchronize and calm to normal
Selena rolled from him and flipped to rest her head on his chest.

“If that was make-up sex, we’ll have to fight more often.” She
giggled.

“NO, fighting upsets me too much. I could fuck you like that
every night of we kept the circumstances the same. We were just
full of passion and anticipating the Holiday, plus being home in
our own bed, and don’t forget, it was making love and I love you
so much.” Joe whispered as if someone else might hear.

Joe pulled the sheet and comforter up over them and they remained
unmoved for another 7 hours.

Chapter 27

Joe Johnson awoke when he became aware of being touched on his
chest, as well as someone looking at him. As he shook off the
cobwebs he smiled and opened his eyes to see Selena propped up on
one elbow staring at him as she fiddled in his chest hair.

He smiled, and she returned the silent greeting, adding “Good
morning lover. If last night was a preview to Jamaica we might
never come home. Sex with you is like a drug for me. The way you
made love to me last night had my head spinning.”

“You do it to me. YOU, you’re the drug. You make me so . . . . .
. . .” Joe started to say.

“ANIMAL! You’re just a sex animal.” She interrupted. “The sting
when you slapped my ass last night made my clit explode, and then
you did it again and shoved your thumb up my hiney and I thought
it had burst, my clit, that is. I was thinking of giving you a
special wake up, but we’re both covered in dried cum. The bed is
a mess.”
“How did innocent little Selena Hanson become so sexy, so wild,
and open about her sexuality? I just look at you and see the girl
who knocked on my door in the middle of the night to call me out
for rejecting her. I could not love you any more and you made it
happen.” Joe said in real wonderment.

Selena’s eyes welled with tears and hugged her head to Joe’s
chest.

“Our love is so beautiful. Look at all we’ve been through, all
the shit that’s been thrown at us, the roadblocks, the rape, the
psychosis we both suffered, the world falling in on us, and here
we are like nothing happened because of our love. I may be a
little sensitive and mental sometimes, but I have a good grasp on
reality and that reality is, I love you so much. Maybe I should
just bag the whole Wall Street thing and run away with you and
bounce to our places around the world.” She mused in a lucid
moment detaching herself from the situation.

Joe hugged her hard to his chest, drinking in her words and
kissing the top of her head as she hugged up to him.

“You know, if I were to think it were possible, I would take you
right now and just leave and do that, but . . . . . .you’re so
principled, so dedicated, that you would have deep regrets that
would haunt you for not finishing what you started at Wall
Street. You once told me that you had a goal of finishing your
commitment to WSG to make sure the world knew you were here. I
don’t think that has changed. It’s why I didn’t fight you when
you wanted to stay in New York to finish, and it’s why I support
you in your quests. I’ve done what I set out to do, and I’ve got
to see you through as well. I’ve fantasized over and over that
you would finish at Wall Street and we would run off to live and
love around as happy retired lovers, and then when our daughter
is mature enough to understand everything that’s happened and
transpired, find her and develop some sort of relationship. Maybe
I’m just full of myself and over ego-ed, but I just don’t see how
she couldn’t love us.” He said trying to keep his composure.

Selena picked her head up and turned to look at Joe, her eyes
streaming tears, but wanting to kiss him through them while
blubbering her words at the same time.

“All those things, ALL of them, have been in my thoughts as well.
It’s no wonder we love each other so much.” She said while
kissing and dripping tears on Joe.

They stayed quiet and pensive for a good long while until Joe
finally stirred.

“Come on lover, let’s let our day begin and take solace in the
fact that we know where we are and where we’re going and it’s
together.”

Selena smiled and kissed him looking at him in total confidence
and bounced up and headed to the shower. Joe went and put on
coffee. As he worked to put together breakfast he couldn’t help
but smell the dried sex juices from both of them on his body. The
combo of the two scents put a little stiffness where he didn’t
think he had the stamina just a few minutes before. He was
preparing a favorite of theirs, Skiers Toast. He quickly mixed he
cream and eggs with sweet and pungent spices and quickly sliced a
baguette and put it in the mixture to soak. The soggy bread would
turn to fluffy toasts that smelled heavenly as they slowly baked.
He had it in the oven before she finished her shower and he was
able to join her for the last few minutes of her rinse.

His erection was obvious and Selena got up in her toes and kissed
him deeply while holding his cock tightly in her hand while
whispering, “Let’s wait for this till later. IF we start now,
we’ll never get a thing done today. Just save this for me.”

Joe nodded knowing she was right and that his excitement would
have to wait, but it only added to the anticipation of being with
her in Jamaica. He washed as she dried and went off to dress.
Before he finished she stuck her head in the bathroom to
announce, “The kitchen smells heavenly and they look to have
about 5 minutes before they come out. You’re so sweet to make us
that treat. Skiers Toast is the perfect morning after sex
breakfast. You made it for me the first time I stayed over for
breakfast. I love you.”

 Joe didn’t respond as he was rinsing his hair, but she knew he
heard her.

When Joe emerged from the bathroom Selena was plating breakfast
and pouring coffee. It was a wonderful cap to a passionate night
of love making. Nights like that insured their times together
were episodic where they could recall each time with a little
nuance that made it special. Even after making love so many
times, that morning as they looked each other in the eye over
breakfast they smiled as they recalled the previous evenings
special quirks.

“I almost got a little preview, it just popped in.” She said
blushing.

“What on earth are you talking about?” He asked feigning
ignorance.

“It was more like a kiss, but if it weren’t so soon after, I
could have got it in, you were losing it.” She explained, with
her face still red. “I felt you right next to my hiney and I just
pushed it. If it were firmer it would have popped right up.”

“You naughty little tart! I thought that was just a coincidental
movement!” He said continuing his faux act.

The sexy smile that accompanied her knowing blush made his cock
almost jump through the slash in his lounge pants as he winked at
her. They both knew he loved taking her bottom and was anxious
for their time in Jamaica where they would reintroduce themselves
to the practice as she promised. Lately she was willing to forego
the wait, but he was determined to keep it special for her.

They continued eating; making eyes at each other like teenagers
until she sat back and had a moment to think about what she was
going to say.

“You probably noticed I’ve gone a few days past where I usually
shave, I know you like me smooth and so do I. I have a 10 a.m.
appointment at the spa across from the community college for a
Brazilian hot wax. What do you think?”

“I hear it can be painful, are you sure?”

“Shanna tells me that if the technician knows what she’s doing,
it shouldn’t be THAT uncomfortable. I searched the internet and
this girl comes highly recommended. You can’t get an appointment
with her the two weeks before spring break and they come from as
far as Plattsburgh.” Selena said with a little trepidation.

“How long does it last before it begins to grow back?”

“Shanna says about a month and when it does grow back it’s softer
and lighter hairs and they wax off very easily. This first one
will be the hardest, but I really want to do it for me and for
you.” She said with an embarrassed smile.

“Ok, Essy, remember, it’s YOUR decision.”

Selena actually thought Joe would give her a fight over getting
waxed, but as long as she knew that pain it may cause, he let he
make her own decision. If it caused any irritation, it would be
gone by Thursday, and if it made her happy, so be it.

 In a short while Selena was ready to leave and went to kiss Joe
saying “Wish me luck.”

At the Salon Studio she was quickly introduced to the tech who
asked her to read a disclaimer and to sign and date it. The
disclaimer was very basic and more of a warning for potential
customers. It said that if you were modest and easily embarrassed
you must put those feelings aside or not do it. If you would be
uncomfortable being naked and moved into compromising positions,
some considered sexual, you might rethink your decision to go
through with it. Finally, you might be touched in ways some might
feel were “sexual” but it is simply the nature of the beast. You
must have showered within the last few hours and voided your
bladder just before going on the table.

Everything on the list was things Selena considered and she
signed it and waited to be called. Once in the room the tech put
on a white coat, rubber gloves and even protective eyewear. She
asked Selena to use the bathroom and come out with just her top
and a paper, cloth-like wrap around her bottom.

When she came out the tech asked her “hop up onto the table and
let me tell you all about this.”

She casually told her everything she was going to do and not to
have trepidations or stop the procedure once she started, and was
she ready?

Selena just nodded and rolled her eyes back as the tech pulled
away the cover and moved Selena’s legs into a frog position and
she began dipping paddles into a hot wax solution and applying
them to her body and deftly twisting them off in the direction of
hair growth, with minimum pain. In about 15 minutes she was
hairless from belly button to butt hole and smiling that she was
through and didn’t have to shave for a month.

When she got home she came in the backdoor up the stairs instead
of the elevator and Joe was just putting the breakfast dishes
away. He turned and looked at her for reaction, but she just
smiled.

“It wasn’t so bad?” He asked.

“The first application and next few rips were a little jolting,
but once your realized what it was going to be, it went smooth,
no pun there. The woman who does it is very professional and
handles your business like it’s her own. Pulling, twisting,
things to get at them. The most embarrassing was when she flipped
me on my side and spread my cheeks to get between them. Feeling
somebody’s thumb, not mine or yours, next to my hiney hole,
holding me open, was the most personal and uncomfortable. But
I’ll do it again, for sure.” She said exhaling deeply, happy to
unburden her feelings to Joe.

“Wow, it sounds like you made a love connection!” Joe joked.

Selena darted at him laughing, “You fucking pervert, I KNEW you
would make a comment like that.” She said as Joe caught her and
grabbed her fists so she couldn’t swing them at her as he laughed
with her.

It all turned into a hug and kiss, which turned into a deep kiss
with Joe finally whispering, “Let’s go in the bedroom and you can
show me you little pootie and how cute it is.”

“No, I’m a little tender there, and we’ll save the unveiling for
later, besides, you’ve seen me nice and smooth many times. It’s
just that this will be velvet smooth for a few weeks. Now let’s
get stuff together to get down to Mom and Dad’s. I want to smell
that turkey cooking.”

Tuesday morning was a typical return to The City day for Selena
and Joe. A 5 a.m. alarm and on the road before 6 and the little
blue roadster zooming down the New York State Thruway at 71 miles
an hour to make Manhattan before 10. The Holiday week kept the
traffic down and by 8:45 it was apparent they would be close to
9:00 or 9:15, as long as Manhattan traffic cooperated. Joe knew
enough side streets and access roads to avoid most jams and he
dropped Selena off at Wall Street Global at 9:17 leaving her to
walk in with Ross Curran, who was running late himself.

Ross waved to Joe and turned to Selena saying, “I expected you
around noon today, you’re supposed to be on vacation and just
stopping in to get emails tie loose ends.”

“We got a good start and the traffic was light, until we got
downtown here, but I have a million things swirling in my mind
that I want to take care of before leaving. You know how it is
when you get this place, this business, in your blood.” She said
as Ross held the door for her.

“I do, just don’t let it eat you up. Charlie and Will learned
that too late. When we first got together and set this place up
those two almost slept here, teetering on the verge of
breakdowns. They both lived long lives, but didn’t learn to take
things in stride until later.” Ross warned her, delaying letting
her passed so he could finish his point before going in the
reception area.

Deneigh sat behind the tall mahogany front and greeted both of
them as usual before adding, “And, I want you to meet Berkley
Quarters. I’ll be training her to take over for me for a few
weeks.”

Ross stepped closer to the high, wide mahogany shelf and saw a
petite, pretty brunette with an infectious smile looking back at
him. She sat so low neither Ross not Selena had seen her at first
glance.

“Welcome, welcome Ms Quarters, and this is Selena Johnson another
of the partners.” Ross said as the two women exchanged miles and
nods.

“Ms Quarters is on a two week contract through Network HR. I
interviewed her on Saturday and she was anxious to get started.
I’m hoping to meet with the partners and get her started through
the process this afternoon. Ms Johnson, will you be able to fit
that into your schedule today?” Deneigh asked.

“Ms Myersen, I’ll be sure to make the time before I leave, if not
today, then tomorrow.” Selena said with a smile and a nod.

Ross and Selena excused themselves and went through the big door
into the great room to their offices.

“If bright smiles can get you hired, she’s a shoo-in, huh?” Ross
said before leaving Selena at her door.

“For sure. I’ll have to get with you this morning to go over the
whole hiring process.”

As soon as Selena’s light went on that she was “in” on each
partner’s board, her intercom rang and her IM flashed. Slim was
the first one through asking “How was your Thanksgiving? Why are
you here so early? Can I have a moment with you before you leave
tomorrow?”

That call was followed by Deneigh asking the same questions and
Selena stopped  her.

“Deneigh? Why don’t you call for a quick meeting in the Great
Room in 5 minutes? I’ll turn my light off until then.”

She got her system up and running and checked messages and
quickly looked in the mirror in her desk drawer before going out
to the Great Room. There was chatter around her and everyone
trying to get her attention. She smiled and made a wave with her
hand and sat beside Ross and dropped the gavel.

“I want to thank everyone for your kind questions and
well-wishes. Rather than answer the same questions over and over,
I would really like to see you all face to face.

Our anticipated Thanksgiving was wonderful and as you can all
imagine, we have lots to be thankful for. We got back in town
early this morning and I really wanted to get here to tie up
loose ends. I’m not sure if I’ll stay the whole day, and with the
markets you never know. Please don’t anyone tell me that I’m on
vacation and shouldn’t be in here, I was gone for 9 years and
believe me, the alternatives to being here were poor. I am
dedicated to The Wall Street Global Group and intend to finish my
commitment and perhaps beyond in some capacity. If I had any
doubts about that last week, they have been solved. I have never
felt so attached and a part of anything in my life as I do here.
I realize I am just getting up to speed, but Joe and I REALLY
need to get away alone after the press of the media and life in
general, trying to fit in so many missing puzzle pieces. Between
today and tomorrow I will make a stop in each of your offices
before I leave. I am truly touched and overwhelmed by the support
you’ve all given me. If my psyche and self-confidence needed a
boost, you’ve certainly given it to me.

In news, Deneigh has begun her search,” She began and paused
before looking directly at her, “in earnest, . .  for her
replacement so she can begin her quest for a partnership with us.
I’m sure we all wish her the best of luck with that. I assume
you’ve all met her first candidate,  . . . umm . .Berkley
Quarters. I hope I got that right. Ms Quarters I can assure you
we will all give you the utmost cooperation and understanding
during this trial period and we only ask you do your best and
never be afraid to ask a question. The only stupid question in
the one you fail to ask.

Unless there are any pertinent questions, we should all get back
to work.” She said unceremoniously dropping the gavel again.

Selena went straight to Ross Currans office and followed him in.

“You weren’t here yesterday so I took the liberty of starting the
back ground check on Ms Quarters. I assume that’s one of the
questions you had. Here is a list of things we will look into.”
Ross said handing her a letter he had from the lawyers office..

Selena looked at the letter, especially at the items highlighted
in it.

“Hmmm, She has to be bondable, a clean drug screen, no former
affiliations with any firm we do financial business with, adept
at all basic office skills, and no arrest record.
This all seems basic common sense. Do you have a first
impression, Ross?”

“I have no problems on the surface; there is one thing Deneigh
could do, that I hope she can. If faced with tremendous personal
problems and her world crumbling around her, you would never know
it with Deneigh. Just so professional, and that’s why she might
make a good partner, so we have a Catch-22 if we deny her the
opportunity to become partner. Strictly off the record, Deneigh
is a very sexy and desirable young woman and if she has fallen
into bed with anyone here by succumbing to the close quartered
intimacy we have of mistaking familiarity for attraction, you
would never know it. I know the men who have worked here during
her 14 years and I can tell you, it has surely been attempted.”

“Putting your personal life aside to do your job as well as she
does it is certainly the mark of a professional. I know from girl
talk with her that she has been here under highly pressured
circumstances, and like you say, you would never know it. This
Berkley Quarters was vetted by Deneigh and that holds a lot of
weight.  It’s just that certain qualities can’t be taught, like
where Deneigh absorbs everything around her, watches and reads
what goes on around her and has learned that she has an aptitude
for this business. I think we know Deneigh will never reach the
level of having “the gift”, as you put it, but she’s very smart
and savvy to what we do. When we sit with her it will be
interesting to see how her mind has been trained to work. She
knows the thought process, but I’m not sure if she can find the
genus thought. Is that unfair to say?” She asked trying not to be
a snob.

“No, that’s fair. She’ll never be invited to join Mensa, but
there is a lot to say for street smarts. Truthfully, she has
doubts and worries she could end up on the outside looking in if
this doesn’t work out. I’ve assured her that if she only applies
herself she will succeed.” Ross agreed and expounded more.

“Yes, she doesn’t know the numbers end, but she knows the
business end of it all and that will help her. She only needs to
prove herself to the partners for her votes. If she gets the
votes, each partner would put up the usual 5% each towards her
seat, Charley Ford and Will Menard each left a small trust to
take care of her seat, if she decided to try, with the balance
going into our scholarship pool. So that’s 35%. The University we
send candidates to usually agrees to pay another 40%, but she
didn’t have that luxury as she stayed local and worked, so we
voted, while you were a . .”away” to pick up that 40%. So when
the vote goes through, she only needs 25% for the seat and we’ve
agreed to payroll deduction if she hasn’t got that much saved.
Now if we vote Ms Browne in on January’s vote, Deneigh will have
to wait until September for hers. That should give her time to
save, AND she will know from 3 test votes, after her 6 month
probation, how she is doing. Although Ms Browne went through her
stipend like water, she was actually a saver and we are holding
25% of her seat in a down payment trust, her parents insisted. So
she is all set and as long as she stays on the straight and
narrow, she should pass muster.”

“So, with 7 seats we have to bring in at least 25 per cent more
business to keep our shares up to value, we’ve got a hard year in
front of us.” Selena surmised.

“Yes, we do. THAT’S why I passed the gavel to you. You’re just
the person to lead us through this. So rest up and relax, we have
a lot of hard rows to hoe when you come back.” Ross said with a
little smirk on his face.

“Thanks, ummm . . . I think?” Selena said as she hurried out to
get back to her office and plan out her day.

After spending 2 hours checking out the stock boards and her
usual leads Selena turned her light off and went out to make the
first of her personal visits she promised before she left for
vacation. She decided Jaye Browne would be the first. She knocked
on her door and waited to be asked in before opening it.

“Please!” Came Jay’s voice in response to the knock.

Selena opened the door and walked in, sitting right across from
Jaye.

“So, you were very quiet this morning, keeping to yourself at the
table. You usually rub elbows with Slim and sit beside me. Don’t
tell me there are problems I need to deal with.” Selena said in a
slightly accusatory tone.

“No, I’m still in my own 10 step program and I GUARANTEE no
fuck-ups. Sorry about the language. I just had a lot on my mind
this morning and I have a lead I’m following here that’s
troubling me.” She said pointing to the screen over Selena’s
head.

“I can help you with the lead and give you tips on who to see
when you get a cold trail on something you think is real. But,
what’s troubling you so deeply? I’m still here for you until
think you’re ready for the deep end.” She said smiling.

“Well, it’s Bill and it’s all good, but maybe TOO good.”

“Explain” Selena said sitting back.

“Well, I see him every day on the train and we’ve talked every
day as well. We went on two dates, he met me here on Sunday night
so I wouldn’t have to go home on the train in the dark, and we
talked on the phone for a couple hours last night, not to mention
texting this morning before I got here. I can’t get enough of
him, and he of me. I’ve known him for 10 days or 2 weeks, and
been out with him a couple times and I think I’m falling in love
with him. It’s so soon and I’m afraid we’re going to screw it up.
We both realize it’s happening too fast, but neither of us wants
to slow or quit. I’m already thinking of when I can move in with
him, and he’s mentioned it should be on our horizon. I’m not
crazy enough to do that this soon. I would think a year together
before we got THAT personal. I would prefer to be engaged before
I ever did that. See, there I am! Thinking about a life
commitment after such a short time. I’m afraid.” She said in a
sullen tone, but brightness in her eyes.

‘To purposely stay away from each other when you WANT to see each
other is stupid. You both have to take a deep breath and just
slow the pace a bit. Stay busy and don’t offer opportunities
where intimacy is the only thing you end up doing together. Keep
your life private, but please don’t tell me you’ve slept with him
already.”

“No, I haven’t, but it hasn’t been for not wanting to. It’s been
discussed and we both know THAT has to wait. We don’t want to
become fuck buddies, we want it to be making love. But, we have
given into other urges.” She said blushing deeply.

“Just know that some of those urges will lead you to a bed and an
urge hard to resist.”

“God Selena, I’m certainly no virgin, but I’ve been around the
block a few times. Sunday morning after a hot goodnight session
at my door at 2 a.m. I was up at 6:30 and he was on Instant
Messaging already. He couldn’t sleep either. I invited him over
and we were naked before you knew it and got pretty involved to
satisfy each other. I don’t think I need to explain.”

“No, already more information than I needed. Just be careful.
Actually it sounds like you two have got a hold of it, pardon the
pun. If you want to be sure of each other’s feelings before you
consummate, you really need to do a lot of talking, and spend
time together WITH other people. See friends, be out in public
and talk where you won’t be distracted with sex. Listen, I’m a
financial person and not a couples counselor. I’m flattered you
trust me with your intimate details, but you two have to work
things out and not let it interrupt you work, OK?” Selena said
before reaching over the desk to pick up her yellow pad of notes.

“Honest, Selena. I haven’t let it bother my work. In the meeting
this morning I was more tired than distracted, but after coffee
I’m pretty focused.” Jaye said defending herself.

“Your notes are interesting here. Liberia, huh? I’m just catching
up to them politically. I guess civil unrest has calmed recently.
What’s your note here, US dollars and UNA Rubber?”

“UNA Rubber is a fairly new American company investing big
dollars over there, and literally mostly OUR dollars. US currency
is legal tender there. They’ve opened a few plants there and
hired a lot of people, improving their economy, but everything
they do, every transaction, even payroll, is in cash, our tender
cash. Coincidentally, their oil price has plummeted and they have
low reserves. I have a feeling these two facts have to talk to
each other, some kind of connection. We have 4 members shoving
big bucks into UNA Rubber and I’m thinking something funny is
going on, maybe all legal, but I’m not comfortable with some of
our people investing so hard there. Others are following and UNA
looks to be strong right now but . . . .”

“Well, if you feel that strong, you should get Slim over here.
He’s pretty savvy on the foreign markets. Buzz him and ask him to
stop by.”

Jaye picked up her phone and punched Slims number and he knocked
on the door in a few moments. Selena got up and handed the notes
to Slim and let him sit as she excused herself. Slim read the
notes as Jaye explained her feelings. When she concluded Slim
reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded yellow pad half
sheet, folded down to a 3 x 3 square. He opened it and held it up
for Jaye.

It read, “Liberia WTF, all our cash, and missing oil futures.”

“I was going to call a friend of mine in the Tokyo exchange today
to see if he had a sniff of what’s going on over there. It’s not
odd for their oil futures to crash, with civil war and all, but
with so much cash fluid in their system, that shouldn’t be the
case. I smell a dirty diaper, but I can’t find the right butt to
check. How did you come across this, I’m curious to know?” Slim
asked.

“I read a piece online how UNA Rubber employees were buying stock
in the company, not through a company payroll option, but pooling
finances together to form small investment groups and it
mentioned them paying for everything in cash, and all US dollars.
I was interested in the US cash angle. I know they fashion their
government after ours, but I didn’t realize they accept our
dollars as currency, as well as their own dollars. In the article
it mentioned that only 1 in 5 households have a car, and then it
spoke of the big shortage of oil and things didn’t add up. They
don’t export much of their oil, and those figures hadn’t
ballooned anyway. So there’s definitely a missing piece to the
puzzle, and whatever that piece is, it isn’t good for investors
over here.” She said confidently and almost shyly, unsure how
Slim as going to react.

“Well, you did a great job. Unless you have a warm lead, let this
lie until I check with my overseas connections. Just as an aside,
when leads keep coming up cold, but you’re sure something will
develop, do just what you did. Check with one of us, confirm, and
then move on. There’s lot of trading being done all over the
world and to keep concentrating on something that has gone cold
on you is a waste of time. As you bring in other factors watching
the whole picture you may find a new thread or a lead to your old
one. OK?” Slim said standing and admiring Jaye’s new commitment,
as well as how pretty she was after dropping all the things that
made her look cheap.

On his way back to his office he stopped at Selena’s door and
knocked. When she replied he stuck his head in quickly, “She’s
going to be great for us. She’s got a great head on her
shoulders. Picking that up was awesome. When I saw it I thought I
would be the only one to add that entire thing up, since I know
that whole oil thing so well overseas. She’s very good.”

“Good to hear, Slim. I’m encouraged as well. I’ll make time for
you later today. Please close the door.” She said rather abruptly
as she knew she couldn’t get involved with a long conversation on
Jaye at the moment as she checked through her daily routine.

As Selena checked her usual tells and signs what ran through her
mind made her proud of herself. “I think that girl likens me her
protégé. Good Lord, except for the naiveté, that’s me 10 years
ago. If she wants she can dominate this firm in a few years.”

She wasn’t about to tell her fellow partners how she felt about
Jaye, she was still in the infancy of recovery from what she was,
but Selena knew the drug that Wall Street was, and how
susceptible Jaye was to addictive behavior. Ten days ago the
partners would have sacrificed their investment in her, so making
wild predictions of her success would be premature and show a
short-sightedness on Selena’s part. However, she felt very strong
about her convictions. The fact she might be entering a serious
relationship only furthered her comparisons to herself. She
thought, “If she channels her youthful energy into this guy and
uses the sexual satisfaction as a conduit to the laser sharp
focus the markets require, it will all come together for her.”

Selena was well aware that the distractions of youth hold back
the best of young minds as they seek stimulation and satisfaction
of going faster, feeling higher, and shunning any thoughts of
ever leaving this world, feeling invincible. Feeling love and
giving love with unbridled, no speed limit sexual satisfaction
fulfilled all the urges of youthful rebellion and the impulsive,
reckless bravado in a young sharp mind.  That left her mind free
to pursue her professional life in total focus. She saw Jaye
possibly being very much as she was in that way. She only hoped
Jaye realized the potential and opportunity she had here.

Chapter 28

The jolt of the wheels hitting the runway and the sudden
sensation of rolling on terra firma as opposed to floating in the
sky woke both Selena and Joe from their deep sleep. The
culmination of the past weeks rush, the past 9 + years ordeal,
and the anticipation of reliving their most passionate
experience, left them exhausted to where the hum of the jet
engines became a lullaby to put them into restful deep sleep.

“Oh God! I missed the whole flight! The view of the island
countryside is so beautiful, why didn’t you wake me?” Selena
asked as she got her bearings.

“I was out too. The last thing I remember was the steward asking
us if we wanted a drink.” Joe said trying to shake the cobwebs.

“The steward tried to wake you,” the pretty woman in the seat
across the aisle said, over hearing them. “She was about to shake
you and I acted like we were all together and said to leave you
be, I would take the drinks. You were sleeping so soundly, I
hated to see him wake you. I don’t like flying so the two drinks
made my flight easier. Besides, it just got dark here and there
wasn’t much view.” She said grinning.

“Let us pay for them.” Selena piped in.

“No, no, don’t be foolish. I enjoyed the buzz and still envy the
fact you could sleep so deeply on a plane. This isn’t exactly a
pleasure trip for me so the alcohol distracted me enough to make
the flight go fast.” The woman said.

“Even to come here on business must be exciting.” Joe added as
the plane slowly taxied to the still distant Montego Bay
terminal.

The woman’s eyes welled up a bit and she looked down before
picking up her eyes and sadly smiled, “I’m bringing my husband’s
ashes here. We met here on a cruise stop, later we honeymooned
here. It was our favorite place. It’s what he wanted.” She said
bravely pursing her lips to her teeth to avoid crying.

She looked away and then refocused on Joe and Selena, simply
saying, “Cancer.”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry.” Joe said as Selena put her hand over her
mouth.

“Please, don’t let my situation bring you down. It’s been a year.
I think he asked me to do this to be sure I came back. I’ll make
the best of it. If you can get to Negril Beach while you’re here,
it’s beautiful.” She said as the tone sounded signaling the OK to
un-belt and gather your things.

“That’s where we stay.” Selena said leaning forward. “I hope we
run into you there. My name is Selena, and this is Joe. This is
kind of a honeymoon for us.”

“Well, congratulations. My name is Odalys, please call me
Dallie.” She said shaking hands with both of them.

“What a beautiful name.” Joe said.

“Life would be easier if it was Mary or Sue, but Odalys was my
grandmother’s name so my mother kept it for me.” She added.

“If you’re going to Negril maybe we’ll be on the same shuttles.
We take a bus to a boat that brings us to Negril.” Selena said.

“Is it the Chiascuro Resort boat shuttle?”

“Yes! Are you there as well?”

“Yes, that was our spot. That boat is a booze cruise and they
tell you all about Chiascuro and Negril.”

“Well, GREAT!” Selena said. “You won’t have to be alone!”

Joe elbowed Selena and looked her sternly in the eye, saying
“Unless she WANTS to be!”
Selena realized she had assumed a bit and looked to Odalys
embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be pushy. I just
hated to think of you alone, but under circumstances . . .”

“That’s OK, I appreciate you thinking of me. If my husband were
here he would be telling ME to mind my own business. I would love
to have some company.” Dallie said.

Dallie stood first and turned to get her overhead bag showing a
perfectly shaped ass close-up to Joe Johnson as he waited for the
aisle to clear to stand. The tight pants left little to the
imagination that she was either wearing a thong or no panties
all, obvious there were no lines. Although she was obviously
pretty when they saw her sitting there, the fact she was so
shapely wasn’t so obvious, until she stood.

Joe’s eyes fixed on the fine moon before him and wanted to look
away but a nice ass was hard for him to not admire, . . until he
got a well placed elbow into his side.

“Get a good look?” She whispered in a huff.

Joe grabbed his side where her elbow had stuck and looked at her
with fire in his eyes.

“How could I avoid it, JEEZ! It’s not like I looked up her
skirt.” He whispered back in anger.

Dallie turned to see the commotion and smiled as her blazer fell
open and it was obvious she was blessed in another area. Dallie
was a knockout, and she dressed to show it off.

Joe stood to get their overhead and discover his laptop bag
hadn’t been zipped back up from airport inspection and his Kindle
had slid out to the back of the overhead compartment. He was
going to have to almost stand on the seat to reach it.

“Essy, you go ahead with Dallie. Something came out of my bag and
I can’t reach it until I get some room here.” He said as he
scrunched back to let Selena pass as he handed off her computer
bag.

Selena and Dallie made their way through the plane as Joe waited
for the last person from the back to pass so he could stand on
the seat.

“My outfit’s already got your husband in trouble, I’m sorry. My
husband would have been happy. He sent me here to meet someone.”
She said in a low voice.

“Who?’ Selena asked, not understanding.

“Anyone. As he laid there and it was obvious the end was near he
began to ask questions, like would ever marry again. Of course it
was not what I was thinking at the time. I told him I could never
love anyone again and he had a plan all worked out for me. It was
obvious he had thought about it a lot. He wanted me to come here
and meet the Windswinger when it came through and made it’s stop.
They stay here for 2 or 3 days. We always admired the hot men and
women that came through on those cruises. He said if I waited a
year to be with a man he would be happy and then to come here a
find someone.” Dallie explained, blushing a bit at the nature of
their girl talk.

“To find another husband?”

“No, not necessarily, maybe to find a guy to sleep with, and put
myself back in circulation, at least in my head. We talked and
set a year as my period of mourning. It was so weird to talk
about but it made him happy. I’m not sure I could ever love
another man, but I sure have been lonely.”

“Well, my husband is off limits.” Selena said half kidding, but
serious in her tone.

“Oh Gosh! Don’t think I would ever make a play for a married man,
or a man someone else was dating. I’m not a home wrecker or
anything like that. I’m going to be here when the Windswinger
comes in and there will be plenty of men, and they all come for
the same thing.” Dallie reiterated.

“You don’t seem the type.” Selena said wishing she hadn’t.

“If you mean swinger, I’m not. I’ve only been in two
relationships in my life, and those are the only men I’ve ever
been intimate with. I need to feel what it’s like to be with a
man again. If I do it here, I don’t have to worry about the
gossips back home. I come from a small township in Pennsylvania
and half the men there have asked me out. If I get into another
relationship it will have to with someone who never knew Michael,
my husband, or me before. That’s baggage I couldn’t carry over
with a new beau.” She explained.

Joe was almost the last person off the plane and he quickly
caught up to Selena and Dallie as they queued up near the sign
marked “Negril-Chiascuro Shuttle”. A tall thin black man with a
megaphone approached to crowd saying, “If you don’t have a
reservation for this trip, your ticket must read 9:15, you will
have to wait for the next one. The bus is totally booked.
Arranging for another ride to the boat cruise will do you no
good. That too is totally booked. Baggage over 50 pounds per
person will have to wait for the morning cruise.”

Joe looked forlornly at Selena. “You hear that? 50 pounds per
person. How can we manage that when you have 3 cases?”

“The two I checked are 23 and 24 pounds, mostly all clothes. The
bag you checked is everything else and that weighs 49 pounds.
We’ll have to buy a few things here that I had to leave out. I
did read the brochure carefully, you know.” Selena said smartly.

“Like?”

“Flip-flops for walking off the beach, and personal products,
toothpaste, shampoo and conditioners. I have sample sizes to
cover us. I didn’t bring sweatshirts in case it gets chilly at
night. I knew about the weight restrictions. Don’t be a nervous
Nellie.” She kidded him.

Joe just smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

Dallie smiled at both of them and remarked, “You two remind me of
Michael and myself.  I can tell you’re really in love and really
respect each other. You’re a team. It makes me wonder why I came
here at all. It’s not me.”

“I don’t understand.” Joe said looking to both of them.

Dallie looked at Selena and nodded, giving her the OK to explain
to Joe. But just then they were given the OK to board the bus
that would take them to the boat. The three of them got on
together and sat in a 3 a side row. Selena got in and Dallie
pushed ahead of Joe to sit between them causing Selena alarm at
first, but then she sighed and looked to Joe.

“She came here to get back in the saddle, start dating.
Specifically, she came to get laid, her late husband’s
suggestion.” Selena told him.

“As a guy, I can tell you, you won’t have a problem finding
volunteers.” Joe said with a sly grin.

Dallie wanted to cry for a moment, but steeled herself, drawing a
brave face from her husband’s memory. The way they were sitting
let her speak without having to broadcast to others on the bus,
suddenly taking her new friends into confidence.

“Michael meant well with his suggestion, Joe. I had told him I
would never love another man. He told me if that was true, I
should come here every year and wait for the sex party cruises
come through. Find a guy and take a ride. He told me that I would
find another love, but I’m not so sure of that. I DO miss being
with a man though. I find that strange because I’ve only been
with my husband, besides something stupid I did in high school.”
Odalys said quietly

“Dallie, your body will tell you when it craves love and when it
craves release. Don’t do something stupid just to satisfy
something your husband said in a moment when he may have not been
considering all the circumstances.” Joe said leaning forward in a
low tone that Selena could hear as well.

“I do want to be with a man, but I’m afraid of letting a
situation get out of hand. I want to control things. I can’t
trust a stranger that way.” She said realistically.

“You’re smart Dallie, you’ll know when it’s right. I don’t think
you’ll jump into bed with a stranger. Just enjoy your time here,
and don’t focus on this.” Selena added.
“It doesn’t have to be here. You came here to make your husband
part of this forever. I really don’t think you came here to, . .
. um . . get back in the saddle.” Joe said with a knowing smile.

“I think you’re right. I envisioned myself getting drunk and
doing something stupid, and I can imagine doing that. You two are
sweet. Can we go to dinner some night here? I like thinking I
KNOW someone here.” Dallie said with a sigh and a smile.

“See, even there, you’re being too trusting. You don’t know us,
we could be shysters.” Joe said.

“No, I know you’re OK. I knew you each looked familiar and I just
recalled where I’d seen you before. I won’t call attention to
you, but you two are very brave people. You’ve both managed to
keep a low profile, where someone could have made themselves
celebrities over it all.” Dallie said knowingly.

“More lucky that brave, and proof of the power of love. We just
want to be celebrities to each other, that’s all.” Selena added.

Dallie patted each of them on the knee and smiled. “You two have
made me feel so good, where I thought I was going to feel a
little cheap on this trip. You guys are just as special as the
stories say.

The bus pulled up to a dock and  a group of dark black men in
black pants and white shirts stormed the bus to take the bags off
as a man with a captains hat held a clipboard and supervised
them. As they got off the bus they saw their bags being stacked
on flatbeds that were being pushed into a center hold on the
cruise boat. People shuffled off the bus and onto the boat taking
their places at tables scattered over the deck. Joe, Selena and
Dallie stayed together.  Dallie’s eyes welled up and she turned
away from Joe and Selena.

“Are you OK?” Selena asked.

Dallie turned and steeled her jaw so as not to bawl and quickly
shook her head yes.
“This is where I met Michael, on this boat. We both came stag and
we never spent another night apart.”

Selena nodded to Joe and he extended his arms and Dallie fell
into them, as he patted her back. “He would want you to be happy,
and not crying.  Try to compose yourself and we’ll have some
fun.”

Dallie pulled back and thanked Joe for the hug, and for
comforting her, and then she turned and hugged Selena. “Your
husband gives good hugs. He’s a good man, no wonder you never
gave up.”

“You know what it’s like when a love is special. I can only
imagine the hurt you feel right now. Don’t sully his memory by
doing something you’ll regret.”She whispered back.

Odalys sat back and looked at her two new friends. “You both have
made me look to the real purpose of this trip. To honor Michael
and spread his remains where he wished to always be, where we
found our love. His idea for me to “find someone” was in hopes of
me recreating what we had. I was so sure of him; I slept with him
the first night and that was only the second time I ever offered
myself.”

“That magic doesn’t just happen.” Joe said as he ordered drinks
for the three of them from the waitress wandering the deck.

“No it doesn’t,” Dallie agreed, “if I meet someone I make a
connection with I won’t have expectations. But my one night stand
will be vetted IF I have one. I am, uh . . . . “anxious enough”
to let it happen, but I’ll know who I’m getting involved with
before I do. My original thoughts of seducing a man from the
dance floor or beach are gone after understanding what I should
fear.”

For the rest of the hour and 40 minute trip the conversation
drifted from Dallie’s quest to the things they love about the
resort, the reason why Joe and Selena were returning and subjects
of that ilk.

“This is the first month of their drier seasons. They get lots of
rain in October and May, but it usually drops right off in
November, but of course it’s almost always 85 there during the
day. Being from the east coast,” Selena said, “their days are
about the same as ours. When we landed, I think it was before 6,
it had just gotten dark here, like home. With no delays we should
be in our room before 9 o’clock.” She finished giving Joe a
knowing eye.

“Are you in the resort building, or do you have a cottage on the
far beach?” Dallie asked.

“We have a cottage, it’s much more private. I even got Joe to
skinny dip with me, but I was young and impetuous then. I’ll see
if I still have my nerve.” Selena said with a deep blush.

“Oh my God, what do you have to be self-conscious about? You have
a lovely body, as does Joe, and most everyone at that beach is
naked, at least the last time we were here they were, but that
was 5 years ago, just before Michael was diagnosed. If I haven’t
lost my confidence mojo, I only put on a bikini or clothes if I
cross the warning fence.” Then Dallie leaned up to say something
in the confidence of the three of them. “I plan on going home to
Rome with milk chocolate boobies and buns so all the town will
talk.”

“Rome?” Joe asked.

“Don’t get too excited, it’s Rome, Pennsylvania. Michael had a
business office in Scranton, about 70 miles away. It’s an hour
and a half by car, hilly back roads, but we made an airstrip on
our old farm property and when I let him, he would fly in our
plane. Any threat of any weather and I couldn’t bear to think of
him flying. Then I lose him to cancer, so much for being
careful.” Dallie said.

“So he drove all the other days?” Selena asked.

“No, the company would send their copter to get him. They insure
Bell and have the famous Bell 206 with the company name in big
red letters on the side. It could make the trip in about 40
minutes. My husband was the CEO, so he could do it anytime. I
didn’t like him flying the plane, even though it really was
safe.” Dallie said, uncomfortable that she sounded like she was
bragging.

“Must have caused a commotion in a little town like that.” Joe
said as he wondered.

“The people in Rome are very unassuming. While we were probably
the most well off of any of the mostly farmers, farm workers,
writers, some artsy people in the town, we were never treated any
differently than the half of Rome that lived in mobile homes.
It’s nice. I get together with “the ladies” for coffee three
times a week and  I dress no differently than they do, and we
never drove big cars or any of that. Michael and I helped paint
the church hall with the rest of the town, go to the Bean Suppers
and all that. We were never ones to put on airs despite our money
and all. We both came from simple backgrounds and enjoy the
life.” Odalys said as her face got a little whimsical as she
spoke and then she sat up close again as to not broadcast.

“No one who ever fell on hard times in the area was left to
dangle. We’ve helped a lot of them, but quietly though. Not one
ever asked for help, but our church pastor kept us on top of
situations. I swear the way people acted you would think they all
had their own private planes. I suppose if we rubbed it their
faces it would have been different, but we were middle class at
heart didn’t mind using our money to help others. Keeping all of
this in mind, I really don’t want to restart my life with anyone
local, or who knew Michael or the both of us before. I would have
a hard time with that and, . . . I’m not sure I could ever love
someone else like I did Michael.” Dallie finished showing a
somewhat “relieved” look about her, having poured her heart and
feelings out about the situation.

“If you don’t mind me saying,” Selena began, “I think you have a
great grip on the situation overall, I mean looking at it in the
right light and all. As far as disqualifying anyone local, when
there’s magic between two people, you’ll know it. It could be
someone you see every day. If you made a list of a 100 guys I
might have fallen for, Joe wouldn’t even had been considered.
Besides, the last thing I needed was a relationship, at the
time.”

“I’ve thought about that aspect too, but the fact so many know
about us in Rome, I just couldn’t help but think my financial
status wasn’t a factor. I hope that doesn’t sound too shallow.”
Dallie said sitting back exhaling deeply.

“Well, all three of us are supposed to be on Holiday and we’ve
gotten into some deep subjects and moods. Let’s have another
drink and celebrate the good fortune of new friends, the great
weather, and the great times ahead of us this week.” Joe said as
he signaled the waitress walking by.

“Another round of drinks for us here, please.”

As interesting as Dallie’s story was and as beautiful as the
evening ocean trip was, Selena began to think about being alone
with Joe with no distractions from their life to sully things.
She caught Joe’s eye at one point and it was obvious he was
having some of those same feelings too. The free spirit of the
vivacious Odalys being so close didn’t hurt as far as lighting
Joe’s fuse, but the ache he felt in his sex was strictly for
Selena. There was a day when he might be fulfilling Dallie’s
needs already in a stall in the ships bathroom, or a secluded
hold somewhere onboard. But while looking her over with a leering
eye was one thing, Selena was all he wanted and more than he
could ever hope to satisfy. If he or Selena had any wonders if
his “hound dog” days were over, this evening proved it.

Odalys looked into the eyes of both Joe and Selena and saw the
passion burn.

“Maybe I should leave you two alone now. I think I’m cramping
your style.” She said as she went to push her chair back and get
up.

“No, no, no, please! We’re enjoying your company. We’ll have
enough alone time all this week and even later tonight. You
remind, at least me, of both of us, you and your husband.” Selena
insisted.

“Unless you want to schmooze the crowd here to find your “love
connection” ” Joe said with a chuckle.

“No, I might have to fly back with one of these people, besides I
may be the only stag on the trip. I’m looking for the Windswinger
crowd when they stop at Negril, and even now I’m apprehensive
about that.” Dallie said looking over the people around her.

Selena leaned over to whisper, “”You can always go to an adult
store to get a friend, you know. You don’t need to risk anything
that way.”

Dallie smiled big and looked at her proudly, saying “Well armed
in that manner, my friend. I haven’t been a total nun.” before
looking at Joe with a blush.

“I just don’t want to worry about you. Don’t put yourself in
dangerous situations.” Selena said.

“Essy, she’s a grown up, you know. She can handle herself.” Joe
scolded at Selena tried to mother her new friend.

“You can give me your cell phone number, if you like. I’ll call
if I have a problem.” Dallie said patting Selena’s hand.

“Pardon my wife. She worries too much.” Joe laughed.

“It’s sweet. I think I gave the impression that I was going to
put a red light in my window, and I’m not. If I can find some
male companionship, it would be nice, but I’ll be careful.”

“I won’t say another word.” Essy said finishing her one drink and
picking up the new one just delivered.

The rest of the boat ride around the tip of the island to Negril
was casual talk and telling each other their expectations for the
week, sunning on the beach, nude of course, and getting Joe to
drop his inhibitions (and worry about erections) and join in the
naked fun. The two women finally got Joe to admit that he assumed
that if you sunbathe nude, it meant you were a swinger or looking
for a hook-up. They both laughed at him derisively until Odalys
sat up to lean and talk to them privately.

“Women spend their lives wearing restrictive bras, worrying about
panty lines showing through their skirt or pants, thus meaning
sometimes we have a panty floss up our cracks, sometimes wearing
an embarrassing pad at inopportune times of the month, have to
make the double jointed move of lying on our stomach and untie a
bikini and still not expose our breasts to get a tan on our
backs, and then still pick clothes that don’t show our tan line,
leaving some of our best outfits out of bounds. HERE, we can just
walk out and show off our bodies, get tanned all over, not worry
that our next door neighbor is taking pictures to post on the
internet, AND be able to look at a guy and not wonder what he
might look like in the altogether, if we happen to be shopping
around. So I don’t care if you want to look at my goodies, and
please don’t be insulted if someone checks out yours. It’s a form
of flattery. If you have a saggy belly, man-breasts, or a tiny
pee-pee, don’t worry, we won’t look. We don’t want to see that
anymore than you want to see a 300 pound woman naked. If someone
isn’t impressed how you look, they won’t look beyond a glimpse,
just like men look at men in the locker room.”

“I wish I had a tape of that to play for Joe over and over. I
keep trying to make the impression on him that no one cares, but
you explained it beautifully.” Selena said giving her a fist
bump.

“All right, all right, point taken. I’ll be a brave little
soldier out there.” Joe said with an embarrassed grin.

Their conversation was broken by talk from the loudspeaker
informing them they would be docking in 5 minutes and to stay
with their bags until a bellman took them and their bags to the
check in desk. If you were pre-checked and paid they would have
your key and bring you right to your cottage or room.

“That’s us, Joey. We prepaid so we won’t have to wait in that
line at reception. We can go up there tomorrow and get all the
other goodies.” Selena said anxiously, wanting to be alone soon.

“Me too.” Dallie added.

As the boat neared the well lit docking area the paved lane
leading to the dock from the check-in suite was lit with
in-ground lighting, looking very impressive. The lane was lined
with golf-type carts manned by neatly dressed men in white coats
and black ties. As soon as the boat docked and people began to
pair up with their luggage names were being announced.

“Seversin party? Seversin party?” came from the loudspeaker as a
couple waved and they were helped with their bags and then
whisked away to their cottage in the first cart.

Quickly other names were called and people scuttled to carts with
baggage and were gone.

Mercer, Mercer?” came the call and Odalys stood up saying,
“That’s me! I have one of your cell numbers. I’ll call you to
meet you sometime.” She said as she got up and dashed off after
locating her luggage.

In no more than a minute “Johnson” was called and Joe and Selena
quickly went to stand near their bags and check them off with the
“hold bursar” as their attendant approached with his hand truck
to take the bags. He rushed them up to the cart and showed Joe
and Selena to the 2 passenger seats and gave the hand cart off to
the next attendant.

He handed Joe the key to their cottage and said “We’ll be there
in quite a jiff, sir and madam.” And then took to the driver’s
seat and zoomed up the lane and slowed as he reached a fence and
the end of the in-ground lighting.

“We’ll go slowly over the sand, it can be rough sometimes.” The
driver warned as he slowed the cart.

Numbers on palm trees guided the attendant to the proper cottage
and he pulled right onto the rear brick floored porch. Joe got
out and opened the double sliding door with his key as the
attendant bellman put their bags inside.

“That’s fine right there, Sir” Joe said as he pushed a $50 bill
in the gentleman’s hand.

“Your name?’ He asked.

“Gregory, sir.”

“OK Gregory, my name is Joe and please drop the “Sir”. Should I
need services may I ask for you?”
Gregory looked down at the $50 bill and smiled big saying “Most
Definitely Sir, or Joe! I usually work days. I volunteered for
the Holiday for the extra money. Thank you, thank you!”

“Is it a Holiday here, as well?” Selena asked.

“Somewhat, depending on your heritage, but since most of our
visitors this week are American, we treat it as such here.”
Gregory answered. “When you ask for me please just identify
yourself by cottage 19. My boss thinks names are too formal.
Thank you so much.”

Quickly Gregory was off to line up his cart for the next group or
couple and Joe and Selena stood alone in their cottage. They
closed the doors and Joe turned off the light Gregory had turned
on when placed the bags inside.

“You want me in the dark already?” Selena said with a chuckle.

“Well, that and wanting to see the moon washed beach out there.
It’s so beautiful and serene.” He said as he looked out over the
golden, almost shimmering sand and the dark ocean, looking almost
like black ink as the waves came and ran up the distant shore.

“Funny how dark the water looks with so little light to catch it
besides the moon. Tomorrow it will be such a blue, no words can
describe it.” Joe said as he took her hand.

Selena kissed his cheek and fell into his arms before pushing the
button to close the curtain on the beach side double door.

“It’s magnificent out there, but I don’t want anyone to see what
we’re going to do in here tonight. Let’s get the bags situated
and start our vacation.” Selena said as she gave Joe a pat on his
package and took one of the bags toward the bedroom lit only by
the moon through the skylights in the ceiling.

Joe opened one case on the stand made for same and began to move
things into the dresser while Selena took the smallest bag that
was mostly HBA and personal and began to set up the bathroom.
When she took out the little squeeze bottle of Mount, a water
based lube, she smiled to herself and slipped it into the waist
band of her clothing to begin to warm it. It was a lightly
scented and flavored lube made specifically for anal play. She
found it where she bought her books online and it had been
shipped with her last book order, unbeknownst to Joe. This was
the act she considered the most personal, giving, and loving of
all. They hadn’t had it in almost 10 years and she was saving it
for this trip after teasing Joe with it for the last few weeks.
She felt “re-virginized in her little hiney”, as she put it to
herself, because she felt some of the same trepidations she first
feared when she goaded Joe into trying it with her. She knew it
was a little fetish of his and wanted to satisfy his sexual
needs. She grew to greatly enjoy it when everything was “right”.
There were times when they began it and stopped. There were times
like only in the last week where she was willing to forego the
promise of this special night. While lying on her back on his
belly after sex where he had finger played in her tight hole, she
reached down and tried to push him into her stretched little
wrinkle. He began to pop in, but simply wasn’t erect enough,
post-sex, for it to happen. Tonight between her excited angst and
her hinted promises, it would happen. If, for any reason, it
wasn’t right, there were plenty of other nights in Jamaica to
make it happen. She recalled the first time they did this during
the last trip to Jamaica where she made great preparations,
enemas and lube potions deposited in her colon. Now that
nervousness, that of not being clean, was gone. She knew if she
had regular voids each morning, she was ready.

She set up the rest of the bathroom as Joe finished filling the
dresser. When she came out he was just opening the third case
that had all of the “hung” clothing. With one fold they were laid
into the “suiter” and together they lifted the whole bunch out
and got them on the hanger bar in the closet, hopefully to
self-straighten as they hung.

She turned and hung her arms around his neck and smiled up to
him.

“Do you remember our last first night here?” She quizzed him.

“Is this a test?”

“No, just wondering if it made as much of an impression on you as
me.”

“Hmmm” He said strumming his chin as if to conjure up a memory,
“I think eating your pussy until we both passed out is hard to
forget.” He said as he swept her up in his arms and went to the
bed, dropping her on top of the spread, the bottle of anal lube
falling out as she bounced on the bed.

“What is this, you naughty girl?” Joe said as he sat on the bed
and read the bottle.

She crawled to his side and turned to lay her head and shoulders
across his lap and he lifted his arms, both hands still holding
the bottle and reading it.

“Naughty, naughty, naughty. I think you want to be a dirty little
girl.” He said with a faux glare.

“You KNOW what I really want, and I’m just as afraid as the first
time.” She cooed.

“Really, you shouldn’t be. I thought you were looking to get
spanked for being a naughty little girl to get this all started.”
He said admitting he miscalculated her play.

“No, not tonight. We can play that game later in the week.
Tonight I want to see if you can make me beg for it in my little
hiney. You always play so nice, so sexy. See if you can make it
right and have me ask you to do this. It’s been a long time, but
I remember you lying on me, our skin pressed together by a little
nervous sweat, and you all the way up inside of me with my very
being wrapped tightly around you and my little hole hugging you
tightly so you couldn’t get out. I never felt so full of you and
my pussy just ran like a faucet. Let’s try to redo that.” She
whispered as she felt Joe firming under her head, almost pushing
her up as he flexed.

“I know it’s been a long time, but remember when YOU would
instigate it and be anxious for it. I don’t like that you’re
afraid, you know I never want to hurt you. I’m worried you did
that just for me endured discomfort to make me happy.” Joe said
in an apologetic tone.

“No, no, NO! I promise you! I did enjoy it, even craved it at
times. You really showed me things that made my body feel ecstasy
in ways I never imagined. Any time it hurt or made me
uncomfortable, I told you. The only fears I have are that after
giving birth and being cut there it might make a change in the
way it will feel. . . . . and . . . . it’s still not exactly . .
. . .”

“Essy, my sweet little flower. You know what I told you from the
very start of our relationship, even before I fell so deeply in
love with you. Anything we do, that we both enjoy, . .  is
“normal”. When we’re alone together making each other happy and
not causing any angst or pain, is all normal.”

“I know that, and I would never let you hurt me to think I was
making you happy. Now would you like to undress me?”

Joe smiled down at her and brought one hand up to begin
unbuttoning her blouse. Once the last button came undone she
pulled herself up to sit on the bed and let the blouse fall
behind her as Joe found the front clasp on her bra and let her
breasts free. He couldn’t resist bending to put his mouth over
one of her nipples so as to tease her and begin her juices
flowing. He pushed her back onto the bed as he filled a hand with
her other breast, kneading and squeezing as she moaned in
approval.

“Oh God,” She said shuddering as goose bumps rose all over her
body, “this is going to be one of those nights where you pluck
every string of my being into tune. I can feel it already. I want
you so badly.”

“No need to want, I’m here for you. I love you and I’ll show you
every way.” Joe said as he ran his tongue down her belly stopping
to tongue and drill at her navel as his hands pulled down the
rest of her clothes.

He pulled his mouth from her as he knelt up straight and she
raised her legs before him as he shinnied her clothes up her
legs, panty, and all. He kissed the bottoms of her feet and let
her legs down either side of him as he bent and put his face to
her pussy.

The sweetness of her pussy always made him crazy, but she was so
smooth after her wax he couldn’t believe the difference. She had
been shaved almost from their first times together, but this was
quite different and only added to the pleasure of tonguing her.
Her little slit was truly a tender flower and he was only happy
to lick and taste her dew.

She was puffing through her mouth already in staccato breaths
before he really got to work and she was flowing her honey like
she had 10 years before as an innocent learning the new ways of
sex. He let some of his laps roll off his tongue and slide off
her coral lips and over her exposed little rosette. He pushed a
finger deep in her pussy to gather more cream and as his lips
sucked the swollen bud of her clit he pushed the gooey finger
right up her anxious ass.

She cried out at the sudden intrusion lifting her body and
pushing her pussy into his face, but she quickly relaxed to enjoy
his mouth and finger again as she let loose of the bed cover she
had been clenching and filled her hands with her breasts, fitting
her hardened nipples between her index and middle fingers as she
titillated herself.

Joe heard her try to control her breathing, drawing long breaths
and blowing out through her mouth, as she tried to enjoy his
mouth without losing control, but she was having a hard time. Her
body wanted to flip-flop like a fish out of water to the tune his
tongue and middle finger were playing, but she was trying to hold
strong to enjoy the heavy vibration of pleasure that was playing
through her loins. That was becoming harder to do much like
trying to hold an electrical wire with a soft charge, eventually
it was going to make you jump.

She began to surge and jerk under Joe’s tongue, even “punching”
Joe’s chin with her mound, but he was undaunted, determined to
get every lick of honey from her pot while relaxing her tight
rear entrance. Her efforts to control her breath and maintain
some continuity in her orgasm was out the window now as she
gasped and hunched and flailed under Joe’s mouth. She let out
yelps and squeals of delight interspersed with cries of “NO”,
“YES”, and “Ahhh” that she apparently had no control over.
However one thing was now apparent, she was pumping her hips down
to meet his thrusting middle finger up her bottom. If she had any
hidden fears of anal copulation, that spell was broken now as her
orgasm-addled desire was to be taken in there, no matter the pain
or discomfort of getting him to fill her that way.

Suddenly she could take no more as she pushed both hands to her
crotch, one covering her squishy sloppy pussy, and the other to
the top of Joe’s head to push him away.

“No more, no more, NO MORE!” She cried out as she pulled herself
away from his mouth and off of his finger and curled into a ball.
As she lay there catching her breath she already felt the
emptiness where his long finger had been. Joe got to his feet and
stood beside the bed looking at the quivering, satisfied, bundle
of beauty she had curled herself into.

“My God Selena, you’re just as beautiful now as when I first laid
eyes on you, I swear. I’m sorry that I’m starting to cry, it
doesn’t seem very manly, but I can’t help it.” He said as he
openly sobbed.

She looked back up at him and was confused at what was happening,
never seeing him like this while making love.
“I’m just thinking of the years that passed when I was someone
else and you were lost in yourself. All this passion and love
wasted for so long, what we missed.” He emphasized as he tried to
gather himself.

Selena smiled and brought herself to her knees and went to him
hugging him tightly.

“I think of that too, but we have to savor every moment we’ve
gotten back Joey. It’s the strength of our love, the power of our
bond that created the karma that brought us back to each other.
Now dry your tears.” She said as she strained her neck up to kiss
his lips and taste his tears.

She sat back on her haunches and reached to unbutton his shirt
and pushed it up over his shoulders as he cooperated and let it
fall. Before it hit the floor her hand was on the slide clasp on
his pants, letting them fall from the weight in his pockets. She
looked up at him innocently as she reached under his balls and
held the weight of them through his briefs. Her other hand went
to trace the length of his penis from its base to the head.

“This is what connects us, makes you part of me, me part of you.
The pleasure we share is just frosting on the cake of our love.
You being inside of me, connecting us, make me complete. Whether
you’re in my mouth, deep in my pussy, or up inside my very being
through my little hiney, it makes us one. Since the first time
you were ever inside of me making us one, you only had to touch
me to make me feel like we were connected. With the sadness that
we may never know the child of love we created, there is a joy in
knowing that somewhere on this earth there roams a product of our
love and there is some sort of satisfaction in that. It’s the
proof that we were here, we lived and loved. The world may not
know it, but God does and someday our spirits will all be one.”
She said almost in a tone of devotion to a being greater than
either of them.

After her words her fingers crept into the waistband of his
briefs and pulled them down exposing his cock and balls, making
her smile. She quickly pushed his underwear down his legs and he
stepped out of it. She lay back on the bed and he knelt up onto
it and then lay beside her, his middle near her head. She reached
out and took his cock and raised it to her lips. The emotion of
the moments before had let the blood out of his excited state,
but she knew she could quickly recreate that situation. She let
the head of his love into her mouth as she reached a hand behind
him holding one of the moons of his ass and she used it to create
an in and out motion of his cock in her mouth until he need no
more prodding.

Joe slowly fucked her mouth as she lay passive for a few moments
and then would occasionally burst up onto him, trying to swallow
his entire length, and then lie back and let him enjoy the warmth
and gentle feel of her mouth and tongue. When she began to taste
a bit of pre-cum beginning to leak she knew the time had come.
She took hold of his cock and moved it away from her mouth. “Get
the tube, I want you there NOW.”

Joe surveyed the bed and saw the end of the tube peeking from a
fold in the bedspread as Selena rolled over to all fours and then
let her arms slide out so her cute white ass was in the air and
her right ear was pressed to the bed. When she felt Joe kneel
behind her goose bumps sprouted all over her rear as Joe filled
two fingers with the lube. He quickly transferred it to her
crease as she sucked in a breath. Joe used his dry hand with a
thumb firmly beside her little anus and pulled a bit to open her
aperture letting some of the melting slickum drain into her. He
placed his greasy middle finger to her hole and pushed firmly as
she drew a breath again. It slid in much easier now with the lube
instead of her own juices and with the second plunge he added his
index finger and twisted it with each subsequent push. Her start
at the first intrusion calmed quickly to a purr as he twisted the
two stretching fingers in her. He bent over her and kissed her
back and his dry hand now reached under her side and stroked her
belly in rhythm to his finger fucking of her ass.

“Joey, let me have you now. Fill me up. Please fuck my hiney.
Slide up me and lay on me. Let me feel every bit of you.” She
purred in a whisper that she knew he heard.

She felt him move and his fingers leave her ass. Her fingers
gripped the bed cover once again as he anticipated him. She heard
the crackling like sound of him stroking his cock with the lube
as she became aware of him kneeling behind her.

Her anticipation was almost more than she could stand and was
about to voice her impatience when she felt him wedge himself
into the open dimple of her asshole and push firmly into her
causing her to fall forward to lie flat  while he nuzzled up to
her and forced more blood into his cock. She held his full weight
on her back and what felt like a baseball bat up her bottom into
her very being.

Her eyes teared up, but not in pain, but in the joy that it was
as she remembered, a tremendous feeling of fullness, seemingly
through her body. There was pain, but not the stinging pain like
the first time. This was a sharp, yet dulled pain that peaked and
ebbed as fast as it presented itself. She and Joe were one. Not
that they weren’t “one” with any other copulation, whether oral
or vaginal, but this was a special fullness that knew no depths.
There was no cervix to block him, no gag reflex to reject him.

He spread his arms out to shadow hers and fit his chin into the
nape of her neck. She whispered whimpering tear soaked words to
him.

“I love you so much, I missed you so much for all those years
trapped inside myself, longing to be taken like this by you once
again. This is the proof we are one, our two hearts beating as
one, just as our little girl breathes our air and pumps our
blood.” She said before snuffing and choking up a bit on her
tears.

“I know this sounds bizarre,” She started again, “but I feel she
is here holding each of our hands and I only wish . . . (sob) . .
. I only wish I could see her face, but I know she knows we love
her.”

Joe couldn’t help but get emotional at her words that he somehow
understood. He understood the spiritual side of her words and
didn’t think them bizarre at all. He knew there would be a day
when the 3 of them would be together, if only to share the
knowledge of their connection. Knowing now would be harmful, but
a day would come when she should know.

They laid together for 4 or 5 minutes without a word as their
bodies melded together. Occasionally Joe would flex to keep
himself firm, and she would try to grip him tighter.

Then she pulled her arms from under his and cradled her hands
under the side of her face.

“Fuck me Joey. Stroke yourself in and out of me and fill my
bottom with your juice, your cum. Ravish my hiney so I’ll feel it
whenever I want tomorrow.

To push himself up he had to relieve the pressure of his arms and
put all his weight onto her back. She grunted at the added weight
but he quickly braced himself up to begin to thrust into her. She
stayed flat as he began to rut on her. As he hunched more, the
longer the strokes became and the harder his middle slapped her
bottom. She began to push her bottom up to get him as deep as she
could with each stroke as she tried to kegel down on his
fullness. Where Joe could easily last much longer now than when
he last loved her before 911, this night she was dragging his
orgasm out faster than he had in quite some time.

“Oh God, Selena. You’re going to make me cum! Your sweet ass is
going to make me cum!” He bellowed out as he looked down at her
form underneath him, but he wondered if she heard him. She was
stiff and bright red under him as she, too, was peaking on her
orgasm.

As she let go of the peak to breath and rasp out a celebratory
grunt, Joe was doing the same as he pounded her ass emptying his
balls in her ass.

Unnngh, ungh, ungh, Ohhh GOD!!” He shouted as he finished in her
slowing to a push pull slide of his softening cock in her
loosened little circle. He needed to relax and catch his breath,
but didn’t want to fall on her, so he pivoted on one knee,
pulling quickly from her and falling beside her.

She let out a little squeal at the void he created and then she
just lay prone as her rear door began to shut, but not before two
long bubbly farts came out. She normally would be embarrassed
from this and jump up to run to the bath, but instead just let
them happen as Joe’s cum drained from her with the rude noises.


“Why don’t I get you a towel? I know you probably can’t get up.”
Joe said with a pat on her bottom.

“Ohhhhh, that last orgasm even sharpened my toenails, it was so
intense. I squirted all over the bed. It’s going to look like I
peed. I won’t be able to look the housekeepers in the face.”
Selena moaned


“We’ll just leave an empty beer can on the bed and make it look
like we spilled beer. God, don’t worry. With the crew who comes
in here on those Windswingers I can only imagine what they leave
behind. Shit happens.” Joe told her as he walked to the bath to
gather a towel.

“Oh, shit probably won’t happen for a few days after the packing
you gave me.” She said with a giggle as she sat up and took the
towel and sat on it.

“I was clean, I checked with a white tissue. No packing occurred,
I just thought you might pinch me off.” Joe said semi-seriously.

“Joe that was the most incredible love-making we’ve ever had, not
just back there, but EVER! You talk about the wild days and
nights that you never get back, well this is one that will never
happen again. We can try, but . . . . Oh my God!!! I’m not sure
if I can even stand up yet. My legs feel wobbly.”

Joe smiled proudly at his accomplishment of shaking her to her
core and then picked her off the bed to bring her to the bath.

“Joe! Are you sure you should be doing this?” She asked as she
threw her arms around him to hold on.

“Selena my sweet, I have new knees, remember? If you weigh much
over a hundred, a hundred five pounds I would be surprised. I’m
in my 50’s, not my 70’s.” He told her as he delivered her to the
bathroom.

He set her on the toilet, figuring she couldn’t handle the bidet
quite yet, and turned to leave her some privacy.

“No Joey, don’t leave. I want to be with you. Hold my hand.” She
begged.

Joe leaned against the counter and smiled down at her as she took
his hand and kissed it while clutching it tightly as she expelled
more air and cum. She looked away in embarrassment, but she
wanted him near. When she thought she was through she turned back
to have him help her to her feet. But when she turned her eyes
fixed on his cock at her eye level.

“I know something that would make the night complete before we
went to bed.” She said in a sing-song tease.

“What’s that?” He asked, still worried that she might not have
her bearings yet.

“Come here.” She said grabbing his wilted cock.

“Selena, I’m not sure if I can go twice so fast anymore.”
“You remember when I couldn’t decide how I wanted you to finish,
I usually wanted both. After how good tonight was, to taste you,
your sweet cum would make me VERY happy. I’ll bet I can make
things happen.”

Joe already felt a flutter in his loins, knowing how much she
enjoyed feeling him in her mouth, tasting his seed.

“I’m not clean.” He protested still hoping to avoid a possible
non-performance issue.

“Wet me a wash cloth and I’ll bet I’ll have him sitting up and
doing tricks in no time.” She said with a sexy smile and wink of
her eye.

Joe reached over her head to the towel rack over the toilet and
took a wash cloth and ran some warm water onto it and Selena
quickly grabbed it from him and took his penis in her hand and
began to wipe it from the base to the tip, turning the cloth at
each stroke. Already he no longer was resting against his leg, it
was beginning to firm. Once she declared it clean it had risen to
face level. She opened her mouth and engulfed the tip with her
hungry tongue and lips. Joe groaned as he felt blood rush to his
cock and her mouth slipped over the length.

“God, Essy! You know how to make me crazy. Make me cum baby, I’ll
feed you all I can muster.” He said as he rolled his eyes upward
and she smiled around his fat cock in her mouth.

She was leaning on her thighs rocking her head over and over his
cock when he began to move to her motion and soon she was still
and he was gently fucking her mouth. As he began to feel his
balls flourish he brought a hand to the base of his penis to coax
his orgasm up and as it began to become inevitable she pushed his
hand away and pushed her mouth over him, as far as she could, 4
or 5 times. Joe groaned deep and even buckled a knee as pleasure
overtook him while Selena hungrily swallowed what she had brewed
for herself. When she finally let him free of her mouth Joe was
the one finding hard to keep his footing while Selena took some
paper and wiped before straddling the bidet font and cleaning
herself. She slipped an arm around Joe and walked him to the bed.
She pulled back the covers and they both slipped in. Exhaustive
sleep was only minutes away.

 Chapter 29

It was after 9:30 in the morning when the air conditioning kicked
on and the hum woke Selena up as she looked up through the
skylight to see the edge of the suns corona about to creep into
view. The angle of the ceiling made it just right for catching
the mid-morning rays and soon the sun would be right their faces.

She sat up on her elbows and looked to Joe who was still in a
coma-like sleep. She bent and gently kissed him between the
shoulder blades and then trailed kisses down his spine as she
pulled the sheet away. When she got to the top of his butt crack
she saw he hadn’t put any bottoms on and couldn’t resist biting
his cute cheek.

He quickly picked his head up, startled. He surveyed the
situation and said, “How do you know I wasn’t dreaming of being
in the ocean and having a sting ray, or crab bite me? You could
have given me a heart attack.”

“How about a heart-on, or do I mean hard-on?”

“Didn’t you get enough last night?” He groggily asked.

“That was last night. Today is today and I’ll have . . . . .
more, please!” Finishing in a cockneyed tone.

“Can’t we go to the beach first?” He whined.

“Yes, and we’re going naked. Man up and be ready. If you get a
boner you’ll have to do me in the deep water” She cracked.

“Suppose it’s not you who gives me the boner?” He said punching
the pillow and readjusting his head.

“Then you’ll wish that a sting ray bit you in the ass.” She joked
in a most serious tone.

“I tell you what. I’ll sit on the porch and watch the other men
walk to the beach. After I see the first one go by in the
altogether, I’ll come join you.” He said hoping she might agree.

“Ok, if that’s what you want. But, I get to wink at the first guy
who stares at my ass, my WHITE untanned, very obviously a nude
beach newbie, ass. Not to mention my ivory white TITS. I know you
like tan line white skin bikini’s that make the nipples look even
redder. I’ll bet I get a lot of admirers.” She said as she stood
on the bed before him and preened her body with a nice light tan,
but very white bikini lines.

“Oh stop!” Joe said peeved that she was tickling one of his
little quirks, seeing the very white T & A of an otherwise tanned
body.

“Oh gosh, when I bend over to adjust my towel on the sand they
might notice my little hiney hole is all red and maybe a little
dilated. They’ll know I like to get it back there, but don’t
worry, I won’t let any of them come onto me.”

“You really want me to drag my sorry NAKED white ass out for the
whole world to see?” Joe said sympathetically.

“YES!! Please Joey. I’m proud of your ass, I think it’s cute, . .
.and. . . . . .  aren’t you proud of my ass? . . . . and the rest
of me? We’ll never see any of these people again and they don’t
care what we look like. Their all worried what THEY look like.
Besides when they see me aren’t the guys going to say, “what a
lucky guy, he’s screwing THAT?”, because I know most girls are
going to look at your cute little fellow down below and wish they
could have it. Your cock is perfect. Why do you think so many
women wanted you over the years?”

“I thought it was my sexy personality.” He said proudly.

“No, it’s your dick! I’ve only seen a few in person, but enough
of them in movie and pictures. Yours is cute!” She insisted.

“You’re teasing me now!” Joe said perturbed.

Selena knelt and sat just forward of his knees and took his cock
in her hand.
“Do you think I would tease you about your dick, your beautiful
cock after I’ve had it in my mouth so many times, and even in my
little hiney, besides the fact it made a baby in me too?”

“OK, I’ll go with you, but if I feel uncomfortable, I’m going to
come back and put on my trunks. OK?”

“OK, but I should warn you, I didn’t pack any for you. I
anticipated your reluctance. Come ON Joey, this is our chance to
really be free of ALL the bonds.” She sing-songed in a whine.

At first he wanted to lash out at her for forcing the situation
upon him, but he thought about the 9 years she was away from him
and he softened a bit.

“We should have discussed this, but I’ll take a stance that,
“when in Rome . . .” BUT, if I really feel self conscious I’m
going to come back and at least put on a pair of boxers. No one
is more sexually open than me, but not in this kind of public. I
suppose I won’t feel so weird if there are enough other men in
the same situation.”

Selena bent and kissed the head of his cock and looked up to him
and smiled. “Do you think I would want you to do anything that
would embarrass you or make you feel uncomfortable? This just
should not make you feel this way. This is a nude beach and
everyone is free to come that way, why shouldn’t we? It’s not a
meat market, and if you’re worried about being outsized by
another man, you’re being vain. There are much bigger boobs on
the beach than mine, tighter bellies, and a lot tighter asses,
and I just don’t care. What I have suits me and you just fine and
after all we’ve been through, who else should we care about?”

Joe thought for a moment and reached for her hands and he pulled
her down to him so he could kiss her saying, “I KNEW there was a
reason why I thought to look for you after I got my memory back.
You make sense, and I’m sorry. But, keep in mind that I am not
personally responsible for any erection I get while scanning the
beach.”

The two of them got up and foraged in the kitchen for something
quick to eat after utilizing the Keurig for coffee. Although they
would have to provide their own food, the Resort did have some
fresh fruit, Pop-Tarts, 2 individual boxes of cereal, and two
small cartons of milk. There was a shopping checklist they could
fill out and have their attendant, Gregory, get for them. They
quickly checked off a few essentials and left the envelope in the
mailbox on the rear porch as instructed and then called the main
house to ask that Gregory pick it up. Gregory was already aware
that Joe would “grease” him well for any favors he performed. Joe
believed in taking quite good care of the help to build trust and
respect for each of them, just as he always did at The Four
Seasons.


After a quick breakfast they both took quick showers to rinse off
before going to the beach. After Joe dried he looked at Selena
sheepishly asking, “I can wear my towel to the beach, right?
Please Essy?”

“Of course you can! I’m not your Mother! I just want us to feel a
little freer, maybe a little international. After we start
visiting our other houses around the world, won’t that make us
Bon Vivants?” She joked.

“Actually, YES! Well, I suppose if you want to consider, Maine,
Florida and The Grand Bahamas being International. Not exactly
the Duke and Duchess, but Bon Vivants? Oui, Madame.”

Selena laughed and snickered at him. “A Bon Vivant would be proud
to parade around with his dick out.”

Joe lurched at her to wreak revenge on her but she moved too fast
as she let her towel drop and opened the sliding door, running
onto the porch while grabbing her beach bag in the process.

Joe hesitated, but picked up a towel and wrapped it around
himself and chased her onto the beach.

The sight of her running nude in front of him stimulated him at
first, but the fact she was there for all to see somehow calmed
that rush of blood to his groin. She had stopped running now and
simply turned to look back at Joe, almost posing in her white
skinned bikini. Her breasts were still pert and her bottom firm,
she was a picture of female sexuality with her feminine charms
highlighted by their paleness. Joe knew that every man on the
beach would look at her lecherously until her tan filled in, or
so he thought.

Looking around at other sunbathers Joe saw more than half of the
women out this morning were new to the freedom of openness and
there were lots of white tan lines to admire, along with other
fully sun bathed beauties. He began to see men with towels like
him, but mostly men with their maleness out and not either
embarrassed or unduly proud where it might seem appropriate. The
premise that “everybody has one” suddenly hit him and that
clothing was a concoction of man, not of God. The other point
made by Odalys on their boat trip was that “nobody cares”, and
suddenly he understood it. He had no reason to inspect another
man’s genitalia for either comparison or derision. Everyone was
simply “out there”. Yes, he did admire a woman or two, but since
she wasn’t hiding her charms it took the lecherous aspect from
the situation and made it a case where God had done a great job
in creating some of his creatures.

After a 10 minute walk some 30 to 40 feet behind Selena and
looking around him he let his towel drop and was about to jog to
catch up to her when she found the spot she wanted to lie out. It
was near a palm that would seemingly serve as a sundial with its
shadow cast. Fore and aft the high sun point it would be possible
to get refuge from the sun if needed, but Selena had plenty of
sun filtering oils to create a quick tan and not worry about a
malicious burn.

When she turned and looked at him, his towel now under his arm,
she smiled and opened her arms to him and they kissed. She hugged
him tightly and whispered “I want to make love out here in the
moonlight some night”.

Joe only answered by dropping his hand to the roundness of her
buttock and squeezing it.

Selena laid out towels and they both took their spots and began
applying oil to places they could easily reach and then assisting
each other with places not so easily reached.
While erotic, the act didn’t stimulate Joe like he thought it
might. It wasn’t a prelude to sex, it was simply applying oil.

When they finished Selena took out two cans of spray on sun block
instructing him, “that oil we just put on should last the day in
theory, but the spray will help when you think you’re being over
exposed. I’m told when you begin to feel over exposed in THIS
sun, you’ll know it immediately, until you get that bronzed glow
you see on some of the people. Don’t get burnt! I need that
body.” She said sexily, making her point obvious as she stretched
out, semi spread eagled in the suns rays.

With few words said, they laid out for over an hour in the bright
sun’s rays, turning from time to time, applying spray sun block
occasionally to calm a suspected hot spot. Finally Joe stood and
extended a hand to Selena.

“Come on, let’s go take a cooling dip in that blue water.”

Selena smiled and took his hand and followed him to the ocean and
they waded out almost a 100 feet and still the water was barely
to their waists.

Selena pulled on his hand and looked at him. “This is far enough.
You can see a darker hue out a bit and I’m afraid it drops off.”
She said as she dipped her whole body to her neck in the water.

Joe joined her as they both squatted and then knelt on the ocean
floor as the light waves lapped at the back of their necks.

“Mmmmm, this is nice. The tide will shift soon and this side the
isle will get stronger waves. We’ll have to remember this calm
period for just lazing in the water, not having to worry about
the waves.”

They made small talk about plans for the week until Joe became
aware of getting too much sun on the back of his neck.

“I’m getting a little water logged and way too much sun. Let’s go
back to the towels and get some oil. We can get Gregory to bring
us drinks on the beach?”

“Yes, we just have to let him know our location. Each gaggle of
Palms has a number on it to tell them where we are.” She said
knowledgeably.

“What, did you memorize the WELCOME package?” Joe said with a
chuckle.

“No, I did my research. Remember when I vetted you? I knew you
were a good person under all that Freddie Fuckerfaster persona.”
She laughed as they waded out of the water.

“Wow, you must have thought a lot of me after hearing about my
exploits!”

“No one, not even Lynn, who says she hates you but really loves
and respects you, could say a bad word about you. I only
concluded that you had a bad perception of what a relationship
was after having your heart broken so many times.” Selena said
matter-of-factly.

“Wait, I never heard of this “vetting”, . . . and Lynn does hate
me in so many ways.”

“Lynn hates you in the fact that you could screw around with so
many different girls and not come running back to her begging
that you never had it better. She even screwed her boyfriend in
front of you to make you jealous, but you quietly did the fix-up
she had for you without a word. THAT’S the genesis of all her
bile.”(reference to my very first on-line story Joe and Lynn,
which I don’t think is around any more)

“If I had even an inkling that she wanted to get back together
and all I had to do was kiss her ass a bit, I would have.” Joe
admitted.

“Even now?” Selena asked with a knowing smile.

“Everything that has happened in my life was something to make
our getting together possible. We have been tested and proved to
be the greatest love of all time and I’ll stand by that with the
proverbial gun to my head. I would die to prove my love for you.”

Selena stopped and turned to Joe and took his hands in hers and
brought them to her lips, gently kissing them.

“I know, and you know the same for me. We damn near proved it. I
didn’t drag you down out of that building, and you didn’t drag me
through the Lincoln Tunnel for laughs. Our love for each other is
unquestioned.” She whispered as tears formed at the corners of
her eyes.

“You never need to say it, just look at me and I know, as you
do.” Joe said pulling her tight to him wishing he could make love
to her right there in the sand.

Selena quivered in his arms, once again realizing the gravity of
all that happened to them and yet here they were as they were
years before, more in love than ever.

She pulled from him saying, “Let’s go oil up and get some more of
that Sun.” grabbing his hand and running with him to their spot.

Selena grabbed her phone and dialed the main house.

“This is Cottage 19. When Gregory is free could he please bring
us 2 tall drinks, as big as you make, a Rum Runner and a Pina
Colada, to the beach?” She said into the phone smiling at Joe.

“Yes,” She answered into the phone, “we’re at 2-33. Thank you.”

The two smiled and oiled other until they laid back, closed their
eyes, and just let the sun do its work until they heard the whirr
of the courtesy cart nearing.

Gregory smiled, obviously enjoying the charms exposed by Selena,
and reached for the cooler he had stowed beside him.

“Delivering your drinks, Sir and Madam.” He said averting his
eyes from what he really wanted to look at.

“Gregory?” Joe said a bit sternly. “Formalities?”

“I’m sorry, your drinks Joe and Selena!” He said proudly as she
flipped a small change purse to Joe from her bag.

Joe fished through the bag and found a $20 bill and went to
Gregory.

“I realize your job is to serve us, but I will never be pompous
enough to have hired help around. Please let us value you
personally as a man we can trust during our stay. I will be sure
you are properly compensated when you perform a service for us,
but please don’t make me feel as I’m your boss. No Sir’s or
Madam’s, alright?”

“Just understand, my supervisor will call me and say “your master
at Cottage 19 calls”, which demeans me, but I am well paid so I
put up with it. Although some make me feel like a slave, I DO
respect you and the way you feel about the arrangement. Never be
afraid to call me at any time, Joe.”

“I just don’t want to feel like I am buying you. I realize you
are paid and that is built into our price, but we truly
appreciate any help you can give us and are not afraid to express
our gratitude monetarily.” Joe explained.

“Joe I understand our relationship and I can’t tell you how I
appreciate you not talking down to me as others sometimes do.”
Gregory said guarding his words.

“It’s respect for the working man, and I can tell you I worked
construction for a long time and know the experience and value of
hard work. I owned the company and worked side by side sometimes
with what the union calls laborers, and I called MEN.” Joe said
patting him on the back suddenly not feeling self conscious about
the fact he was without clothing.

Gregory thanked both of them and went off in the courtesy cart to
his next stop.

As they sipped the rum concoctions the sun made its turn and let
the palms cast their shadow upon them. It wasn’t long before they
both slipped into a light doze to rest from the morning dose of
sun. It only took a short time for the tilt of the sun began to
allow for new rays to hit Joe’s eyes first and he began to wake
as his mind took a groggy inventory of where they were and what
they were doing.

Suddenly something was blocking the light that had begun to reach
his eyes and he opened them to see the sexy, voluptuous, proudly
naked, figure of Odalys Mercer.

“Your wife apparently wore you out last night, good for her!” She
said with a giggle.

Joe was still wiping cobwebs as he took in the body of Dallie.
Her breasts still sat fairly high on her chest, her areola were
huge with proud pert nipples on her still white breasts. Although
the tan line below her waist was small from apparent tanning in a
thong bikini, her shaved pussy area was like a white exclamation
mark on her body. Joe already surmised that her turn-around would
reveal a round perfect ass that had barely begun to spread and
show signs of gravity effects Shapely asses, no matter what the
size, were still a favorite of Joe Johnson.

After a quick inventory of what was before him Joe quickly sat up
saying, “If you’re trying to attract a man, you shouldn’t have
any problems. In the haze of sleep you were certainly a sight for
me to wake to. Excuse me for staring.” Joe said as he reached
over and shook Selena’s foot to arouse her.

Still in the shade of the palms, Selena blocked her eyes from the
sun drenched image of Dallie, who reminded her of the full
figured models in the older copies of Playboy her father used to
hide in his studio.

“Wow, you are stunning, I’ll have to blindfold my husband . . . 
uhh, that was a stupid thing to say after we both told him how
silly he was to be modest.” She said looking to Joe.

“Oh! I hadn’t realized she was naked!” Joe feigned as the ladies
chuckled.

“You’re both beautiful specimens yourself. You’re enjoying the
sun, I see.” Dallie said as she looked around.

“It appears I’m the only one to recognize you here so far. I was
really afraid your degree of celebrity might draw some
lookie-loo’s, but if they missed you on the plane and the boat,
you might be home free here. Besides, with the name Johnson in
this place, they might think it’s an assumed name. I’m sure there
are married men who sneak away here “on business” , she said
using her fingers to accent the quotes, “with their girlfriends
or secretaries.” Dallie determined.

“I don’t mind the occasional congratulatory handshake or pat on
the back, but I hate when they make it like we did some heroic
thing. We were two frightened people who were lucky enough to
save our own butts. Wanting to survive isn’t heroic, it’s natural
instinct.” Joe said as he looked to see if any of his drink was
left.

“It’s all perspective Joe. I look at it as a spit in the eye to
the terrorist. You’re two they thought they killed and you showed
them they weren’t strong enough to get you. You live while Bin
Laden sleeps with the fishes. Fuck you al-Qaida.” Dallie said
forcefully.

“After reading all the stories, that was what I walked away from
it with.” Joe nodded at he drank the remains of the melted ice of
his drink. “Nothing heroic, just a finger in their eye. I wasn’t
aware for a long while, and Selena was lost in her little world
of fear. We really don’t like to talk about it.”

“Understood, so . . . .you two had a good night?” She asked
looking at both of them.

Selena rolled her eyes and blushed. That sufficed to be the only
answer.

“I’m going to the nightclub tonight and see if there are any
single guys worth prospecting.” Dallie said with a blush of her
own.

“Please be careful.” Selena said quietly. “I know you’re old
enough to take care of yourself and you don’t need mothering.
Just don’t play with fire.”

“I sort of fantasized last night, and I don’t mean to be
presumptuous but, . . . . ummm, have you two ever made love on
the beach?”

“Well, we’ve wanted to, at night. Just afraid of being seen. We
saw another couple here once and . . . .” Selena said, stopping
short of giving up too much private information.

“Well, don’t think this is strange or kinky, but if hook up with
ANYONE, it won’t at my cottage or his, it will be out here. If I
hooked up with you both, as a couple, and we were in close
proximity we could sort of be look-outs for each other and I
would feel somewhat safer with a stranger.” Dallie said trying to
make sure her words weren’t taken wrong. “I mean, I have no
interest in watching or anything, just if you’re afraid of not
being private and I don’t really trust my partner, we could help
each other out.”

“Oh, I don’t think so Odalys.” Joe said as he looked and saw
Selena shaking her head in agreement.

“We aren’t prudes, but we’re no exhibitionists either. Our love
is private and I wouldn’t feel comfortable at all.” Selena said.

“But, you’re not comfortable being out here alone either, we
could at least look out for each other. I’m just asking you to
think about it. I haven’t met anyone I have any interest in and
doubt I will. I was just throwing it out there. Don’t be put off
by my suggestion; it was just an idea during a moment of
fantasy.” Dallie said apologetically.

“Listen, we’ve hit it off as fast friends, but this would be just
too personal. I understand where you’re coming from, but the
situation just isn’t for me. Joe?” Selena said trying to convey a
sense of understanding.

“Oh, I agree. What we have, we wouldn’t share.”

“You’re forcing me to sound like I’m trying to talk you into
this, and I’m not. I just don’t think you understand. We wouldn’t
be next to each other, and wouldn’t be watching each other, just
in earshot at a point at the beach where we would see an intruder
or peeping Tom coming. To tell you the truth, I’ll bet anyone
else out at night might be doing the same thing. I’m not a voyeur
or a kink and I’m not trying to say that I am or think you two
are.” Dallie said to defend herself and make sure Joe and Selena
didn’t get the wrong impression.

“OK, I get it. No harm, no foul. I thought you misunderstood our
reaching out to you as a friend on this trip.” Selena said with a
smile as she got up and hugged Dallie.

Joe added an apologetic chuckle, saying, “My wife likes to fix
broken things and your story touched her, but your proposition
had her thinking she misjudged you.”

No, please think of the love my husband and I had to be much like
your own. We were private and didn’t swing like that either. Um,
. . . . “swing” was a poor choice of words, .  . . . . we didn’t
“operate” like that either. My wanting to do something sexually
adventurous at my husband’s behest might make me seem loose, but
I’m not.”

They made plans to meet at the nightclub for a drink before the
entertainment started that night. Joe and Selena already had a
pit table for two reserved, but a drink at the bar sounded nice.
After they gathered their things and walked back to their cottage
arm in arm, but Selena felt uncomfortable. Her hug and kiss with
Dallie had caused something. When their breasts touched she
quickly flashed back to her drunken foray of gal pal playing with
Lucy. Although it wasn’t a full breast press, she had to admit,
her pussy was running like a faucet.

As they arranged things on their porch and go ready to go in
Selena took Joe’s arm.

“When we get inside, go rinse off that pretty cock of yours. I
don’t want you to get any sand in my pussy. Holding you as we
walked made me horny as hell.” She said with a sly grin.

Joe said nothing and held the slider open for her and went
directly to the bathroom to do as she asked. When he came out she
was kneeling in the easy chair, facing the back with her right
shoulder pressed to it while her head hovered over the wing,
watching and waiting for him. When he saw her he walked to the
left of the chair as she opened her mouth to make sure he was
hard enough to get the job done.

“Ohhhh, GOD! What has you so randy? You’re sucking my cock like
it’s candy! Don’t worry, I’m not going to take it away from you.”
Joe said as he nearly buckled under the pleasure.

Selena wouldn’t say that pressing her breasts to Dallie’s turned
on her faucet, but she surely wanted to cool her loins to be sure
she wasn’t tempted to act on her itch in any other way. She knew
she would never, ever, cheat on Joe, but this was her insurance.

“Oh God!! Put that big wet cock in my pussy Joey! The sun, the
ocean, your touch has me on fire. FUCK ME!” She commanded as she
rested her head on the wing as Joe moved behind her.

Joe bent and licked her pussy with one long deep swath, being
sure to leave a wet puddle on her asshole before he stood and
wiggled the head of his cock between her lips and pushed all the
way in.

Selena sucked in her breath and swooned loudly at being fully
penetrated as his hands reached under her and grabbed her tits.
He started to plunge hard into her as she jerked back for every
punch and pushing out a loud “OH!” each time he hit bottom.

Joe stood to look down over her as he fucked her with abandon and
saw the red ring of her sore asshole coated with the wetness he
had deposited there. He wet his middle finger and pushed it in
with no warning for her.

“Oooooooooooooooooow! Joey, you CAN’T fuck me there today,
tomorrow or the next day! Your finger feels fine, but don’t get
ideas!” She yelled, angry because he broke her mood.

‘Take it easy Essy, you know I wouldn’t do that. God! I thought
you were enjoying this!”

“I am! I guess my mind was someplace else.” She admitted as Joe
stood there a bit confused, his cock and middle finger still
buried in her.

Joe began to move within her and it took but a few seconds for
her to start to pant like she had been.

“God, Joey you have me so full. Pump that cum into me!” She
whined through her hard breaths.

The stop and start hadn’t affected Joe at all as he felt his
orgasm rising, pulling his finger from her red ring and slamming
it home as she hollered approval. When he was finished he fell
forward across Selena’s back placing one arm around her middle
and bracing himself up with the other on the wing she was sort of
resting on, although most of her weight was still on her shoulder
in the back of the chair.

The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing until Selena
coughed and cleared her throat.

“Oh Joe! I can barely move. Good God, there’s making love and
then there’s fucking.
THAT was fucking and I must say we did it quite well.” She
chuckled.

“That little bit of titty to titty touching got you all that
bothered?”

Selena flushed red and spun under Joe to sit in the chair as he
stood up to face her.

“You knew?”

“Essy, you flushed red as soon as you let go of her and were
acting all . . all . . . all something that I recognized as
sexual fluster.”

“God, am I THAT obvious. Do you think Dallie picked up on it?”

“Why? Did you want her to?” Joe asked facetiously, but was still
interested in her answer.

“Joe, you don’t even think I’m CAPABLE of cheating on you? Do
you?”

“Of course not!” Joe said, almost scolding her for the thought.

“Not after everything we’ve had and went through. I understand
your excitement, but I think you did what you might always do in
the same situation: Run home and get your “tires” aligned and
balanced.” Joe said with a knowing curl to his lip that turned
into a full smile as he reached down and scooped her off the
chair.

“Joe! Put me down! Where are you taking me?” she yelled as she
hung onto him as not to fall.

“Relax, I’m bringing us both the shower, and then we’ll get
dressed and stroll into the village for lunch. Sound OK?” Joe
said as he set her down in the bathroom, but not before giving
her a smack on the ass.

“Ouch, that hurt, but I suppose I had it coming.” She said
rubbing the spot as she got into the shower stall.

“Essy, a woman NEVER has it coming. I just like slapping your
ass, it has a nice feel to it.” He said patting the site of the
blow.

“I know, I have proof of your love of my ass.” She said as she
rubbed a hand over the middle of her butt and grinned.

Dressed and refreshed the two were off for a short walk into the
little village that was basically supported by the local
tourists. While many other parts of the area were poor and
depressed, this would be considered upscale. Mostly food,
jewelry, trinket stores, bars, and nightclubs, they survived on
the upscale visitors. Groups of small foot-pedaled “surreys” sat
on every few corners to ferry tourists around the village and
back to the resorts. As the strong legged owners of these
primitive, but quaint, taxis hawked Joe and Selena for their
services, but Joe waved them off, choosing to walk.

From their first trip, Joe remembered a place called “The Rum
Plantation” and hoped it was still there. He remembered an awning
covered cool shaded area of tables with pretty local waitresses
serving strong rum drinks and skewers of jerk shrimp or chunks of
spicy beef (God, he hoped it was beef). After filling on the beef
and shrimp they served breadfruit roasted over a fire and then
soaked in coconut milk. If you mentioned Jamaican food, it was
all Joe could think of. The most popular Jamaican food was
probably Curry Goat and Joe would have none of that.

Turning off the corner of the main street Joe saw the familiar
green and white striped awnings hanging low off The Rum
Plantation. The smell of grilling food filled the air and they
made their way through the door and made their way to the tabled
patio. Young dark and light skinned black women in brightly
colored sarongs that usually showed plenty of cleavage in the
front and criss-crossed around their bottoms barely hiding their
charms from the back.

“It figures you would remember this place.” Selena said as she
poked Joe who had turned his head to examine a smiling waitress
that passed them.

“Selena, I love pretty women so much, I married one. If looking
at these women lights a fire under me that only you can cool, it
seems like a win-win situation for you. Like before, you’ll know
when I’m making love to you and when I’m fucking you. Either way
leaves you breathless and satisfied. Looking never hurt anyone.
You know where I butter my bread. When we were “young” in
Manhattan 10 years ago I understood you being a little possessive
or jealous. There’s simply no reason for it now.” He said softly
enough for only her to hear, but sternly enough to know he wasn’t
kidding around.

“I’m sorry Joe. I guess it’s just a natural thing. I do not doubt
your love or loyalty and I shouldn’t act so silly. I know you
don’t even try to hide it which should convince me more. I’ll
learn to bite my tongue, but when a woman comes onto you, she
better look out.” She said with a serious smile.

“Listen, Joe Palooka, IF that ever happens, and at 52 I might be
flattered, make sure you give me a chance to tell them I’m
married before you start a brawl.” Joe said laughing it off.

“As long as you know I’m serious.” She said with a smile.

Just then a pretty young light skinned black came to their table,
her breasts nearly falling out of the top of her sarong.

“Greetings my friends. From where do you hail?”

“New York City, and are you local” Joe answered.

“Somewhat. I was born in Kingston, but spent most of my childhood
in the UK where my father was a businessman. We came back here
about 6 years ago and I work here to pay for University.”

“Where do you go to school?” Selena asked.

“I’ve finished 3 years in Grenada and now I’m saving for a year
to go to Baylor in Texas for Medical school to finish.”

“A doctor?”

“Maybe, perhaps research. I do want to work in medicine, but I
can only do what I can afford.”

“Commendable.” Joe said before he looked at the menu card, even
though he already knew what to order.

“We’ll have the skewers platter and a large Pina Colada and a
large frozen Rum Runner. Please tell me uh, I don’t believe I got
your name?”

“Jelan Sir, my name is Jelan” She answered shyly

“Please tell me, Jelan, that the meat on the skewers is beef and
not goat.”

Jelan smiled and knew she had a paranoid American at her table.

“What if I told you it was neither beef or goat?”

Joes mind reeled wondering WHAT it could be, but Jelan could no
longer toy with him.

“Relax, it is beef, brought in by plane from Texas, I promise
you.” She said with a teasing smile while turning to Selena.

“Your husband is quite the charmer, keep an eye on him. There are
others on the island, much prettier than me, who would like to
have his company.” Jelan said semi-seriously and part seeming to
kid.

“He’s been married too long to me to chase younger women anymore.
I keep him close.” Selena said smiling.

“You are a smart woman. I’ll be right back with your drinks and
put your order in.” Jelan said.

“Her accent is so refined, heavily British, but enough of this
island to assure you she’s native.” Joe said as they watched her
walk away.

“Her face is so innocent and pretty, but the way she talked, I
doubt the innocence. I don’t think she wears a thing under that
sarong. I think there’s an arm hole and it crosses her front and
wraps under her butt and back across her breasts to the other arm
hole. Only the bubble of her butt keeps it taut and on.” Selena
surmised.

“If she bends over, it’s all over.” Joe snickered.

“Seriously, if I wore that it would slide up over my butt the
first time I moved. She can almost wrap it under and it stays.”
She said, still analyzing.

“Really! Hadn’t noticed.” Joe said, still snickering.

“I’ll bet!”

‘There you go again! Do you really think that there is any ass I
want besides yours? You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever
laid eyes on, perfect for me in every way. Yes, she has a very
round and prominent butt, nice to look at. But, she’s not you.”
Joe said shaking his head.

Selena leaned up to say quietly, “The kind you used to like to
fuck?”

“OK, you asked for this, NO! Not as good to fuck. With all that
flesh you can’t get deep enough.” Joe said confidently.

“OK, stop. Sorry I asked and sorry I started it.” She said as Joe
smiled and turned to see Jelan walking in with their drinks.

As she put them on the table Selena perked up. “Now you can’t
tell me that sarong, or whatever it is, is comfortable.”

Jelan looked both ways and lowered her voice, “No, it isn’t, but
it kind of forces them to only hire native women, or ones shaped
like us. We tend to have big back ends. I get my share of nice
tips from the American and British tourists, but I’d rather be in
a bikini. Many girls can’t wear this, it tends to ride up unless
you have something for it to wrap around.”

Joe couldn’t believe she asked the question and the discussion
that ensued as he sat with his forehead in his hand waiting for
it to end.

“I’m sorry my wife asked you these questions.” He apologized.

“I’m sorry I have to be on display like this, but the money is
good. It’s worth the pinches and propositions I get every day.
I’ll start school next semester!” She said as she quickly went
off to wait other tables.

“Happy now?” Joe asked.

“Yup. I KNEW it had to be uncomfortable. Management just wants to
put the girls on display. I guess everybody wins, except for the
women’s rights groups.” Selena said with a chuckle.

The place got much busier and when their food came out they
barely exchanged more than smiles with Jelan as they both dug in.

“Good Lord! Look at us as if we haven’t eaten in days.” Selena
said.

“Hot sex is hard work.” Joe grinned.

“Building your strength for more?” She teased.

“All you can dish.” He said confidently.

“That could be more fucking and less making love.” She said
wiping her mouth.

“It’s all about the mood my love.”

“ Mmmmmm, actually it has a lot to do with the time of day too.
Late at night, early in the morning, THAT’S making love. During
the day, especially when we have days to ourselves, I just can’t
get enough of your body and what it does to me. It really is
making love, but it’s just not the tender kind.” She said as she
picked up the strawberry garnish from her drink and playfully ran
her tongue around it before popping it in her mouth with a sly
grin.

Joe’s imagination quickly leapt to the thought of what her mouth
can do and he gave her a pleasured wince.

“Penny for your thoughts.” He said wistfully.

“You KNOW what I’m thinking of, and I can’t wait. I’ll get you in
the chair we just fucked in and scoot you to the edge and all
that cockaballs is mine!” She said accenting her words with a
snaky tongue loll.

“And how am I supposed to concentrate on anything else now?” Joe
asked.

Just then Jelan returned to their table to ask “Wow, you guys ate
that fast! Was that an appetizer?”

Selena perked up and said “It WAS an appetizer, but what we’re
going to feast on is back in our cottage.”

Jelan may have seemed innocent, but she was quick to pick up on
Selena’s intentions.

“Good for you. I’m rather a fan of private dining myself. I hope
you both get your fill. Would you like another drink, or just
your check.” Jelan said.

“How about one more round, AND our check, then you won’t have to
make two trips.” Joe said.

“That’s fine, but I wouldn’t mind coming a couple times.” She
said with a snickered tone before she walked away, seeming to
accent the sway of her hips.

“Were we just hit on?” Selena asked.

“We were! If you ever thought about a threesome, now would be the
time!”

Selena sat stunned at his words, horrified he would even think
it. She looked up to him and he said “BA-ZINGA!”

“Oh my god, I was beginning to think you were serious for a
minute.” She said relieved.

“Selena, if such thoughts were ever to enter my mind it would be
long discussed and with someone we both loved in one way or
another. I have no thoughts of sharing you, nor do I want to be
with anyone but you. I may look, but it’s only window shopping,
as you know. If Jelan seems innocent to you, think again. She
spoke to that couple behind you just like she spoke to us. When
the wife got up to go to the Ladies Room Jelan almost ran over to
him and arranged something where he gave her money. Not innocent,
not discreet, but paying for her education the only way she knows
how to get off of this island.”

“You sound like you approve.” Selena said, surprised.

“Not morally, but as life goes on this island for many, she’s had
a taste of college life and education in Grenada, all she and her
parents could afford. Now she wants to fulfill her educational
and life dreams and she’ll never accomplish it any other way
here. Her avenues are limited. She gets an A in resourcefulness.
You would be hard pressed to find a college girl who didn’t suck
a few dicks, or fuck a guy or two to ease the stress and boredom
of studying. She’s just getting paid for it.”

“I guess in her case, . . . . whatever it takes. I just couldn’t
live like that.” Selena said, surprisingly understanding of her
situation.

Jelan was just coming out with their drinks and the folio with
their check. She set the drinks down and handed Joe the check and
he asked her to wait while he looked at the total. It was $103.23
USD.

Joe took a Hundred and a Fifty from his money clip and slipped it
inside for her with a smile.

“Good luck with your education, and be careful.” He said with a
smile that she returned, knowingly.

Their walk back to the cottage was decidedly slower that the walk
to. The two tall drinks took more of a toll on Selena than Joe
but they were both in stages of “tipsy”

“You didn’t forget that I plan to have a sex feast on you, did
you?” Selena asked.

“My body is yours to enjoy. I’m sure I’ll have no complaints.”
Joe said giggling.

Joe locked his arm around Selena and they walked with a bit of a
stagger back to their cottage. When they got there they entered
through the patio sliding door and pulled the curtain tight. As
soon as Joe turned back to Selena after securing the door she
reached between Joe’s legs and held his package while locking
eyes with him.

“I love you, my Joseph. I can’t tell you how many times I lay in
bed and dreamt of having you in my mouth while in that
godforsaken mental institution. It was an intimacy I knew you
alone had shared with me and that we enjoyed so much. The night
time orderlies and staff looked for ways to get me alone to see
if I might relieve my itch they knew I had. Philly got reports of
me masturbating all of the time, so they knew I was ripe. What
none of them knew was the fantasy never changed. You would walk
to the bed and I would take you in my mouth to let you fuck me
there. So sit in the chair and let me feel you and explore you
with my lips, tongue, and mouth. I want to excite you, tease you,
taste your man sweat, and bring you to a wonderful satisfying
orgasm that I can taste and savor. I love you Joseph and I want
to please you in every way that I can, as you do me. Tasting you
and the seed you make is the most intimate thing I can think of
besides you making love to me.” She said all the while backing
Joe into his chair as she slinked to her knees.

She undid the little shorts he was wearing; already knowing he
hadn’t put any underwear on after their shower. She smiled as she
reached up under him to pull them down and he accommodated her by
lifting his butt off the chair.

She smiled at what lay before her knowing she fantasized about it
so many times in the hospital. She had him this way many times
since her release, but this moment was to satisfy all times she
wished he were there. Even then, as hopeless as she felt, as
confused as she felt then, she somehow knew they would be
together again in some world in some way. She buried her face
into his cock and balls and filled her lungs with his manly scent
before being overcome with her need to feel him on her tongue and
fill the hollow of her mouth with him. She would bring him to the
brink many times that afternoon before letting him shoot his cum
over her tongue as she pinched and pulled at her clit.

Chapter 30

Joe woke from his afternoon nap feeling satisfied and fully
relaxed. He took a moment to put all the pieces together and
gather his senses as to what, when, and where. The sometime fear
of waking to find that rediscovering Selena was just a dream made
him bolt for a moment, only to see her curled up on the floor at
his feet, sleeping. Her little shorts were at her side and her
bikini top was pulled down and around her waist. The oral sex she
had shared with him was now fresh in his mind and he remembered
her sweet mouth and soft words coaxing him to climax for her.

As he shifted his feet to stretch she startled and her eyes flew
open only to have her face soften and look to him with her
adoring eyes.

“I hope I made you happy. I love you so much, to taste you is so
pleasing. I came when you did as well but you were groaning so
loud I don’t think you heard me. That and our drinks put us to
sleep pretty fast.” She said softly.

“Demon rum.” He whispered.

“and delicious cum.” She said winking and licking her lips before
she bolted to her feet.

Selena walked quickly to the bathroom where she quickly rinsed
her mouth, gargling and spitting loudly.

“How can something that tastes so good when it’s warm from your
body leave such a wretched after-taste after you don’t rinse.”
She said to herself, loud enough for Joe to hear.

“I wouldn’t know, but your pussy still smells good on my lips in
the morning, but my fingers do have a smell that’s not too
pleasant.” Joe said smiling as she came back into the room.

She put her fingers to her nose and did a quick turn around and
went back to wash her hands, all the while chuckling.

Joe got to his feet and went to bathroom where Selena was still
washing her hands. Joe put his fingers to his mouth and filled
them with spittle that he wiped through the lips of her pussy as
she jumped and began to turn until she felt him put a hand to the
center of her back and his cock nudge through her lips up into
her vagina.

“Really? Already?”

“I watched your cute little ass rock back and forth twice to the
bathroom in the last 2 minutes, that’s all I can take.” He moaned
as he felt her warmth surround him.

Selena let her pelvis rest against the front of the counter as
she folded her arms into the sink, warm water still running.

“Oh God! You feel so good in me. We needed this, just making love
and fucking whenever the moment moved us.

Joe held her hips and glided in and out of her at an easy pace,
enjoying every moment in her warm tightness.

He looked down and her little butthole was winking with each
stroke and the temptation to touch her there overcame him.

“Easy, I’m still a little tender.” She said as she looked to her
side and saw the tube of lube gel.

She reached from the sink for the gel and put the tube to her
mouth and twisted it as her mouth held the cap firm. Once open
she set the tube down, spitting the cap, and squeezed some onto
the counter. She used two fingers to scoop it up and reached
behind herself to put it on her tender asshole.

Joe gently put his middle finger to her lubed target and began to
double penetrate her, pushing and pulling each one after the
other. He saw her stiffen and orgasm, feeling a flush of wetness
around him as her pussy began to slosh in her white creamy cum.

She quickly came a second time as she gasped into the sink and
thrilled in her squeaky orgasm voice.
Suddenly she reached behind her and took Joe’s cock by the base,
coaxing it out of her pussy. She slid her hand up to the head,
and holding just behind the corona, pushed it at her tired
wrinkled hole. She gasped as it popped into her and pushed
herself back over him.

“Fuck my hiney, Joe.”

“Are you OK? Not too sore?”

“I’ll be fine, what could be bad about this? We are one right
now. Push up into me and hold me.” She said between thick
breaths.

Joe pushed up as far as he could reach and bent over her, his
hand finally reaching for the handle to turn off the water.

“Been too busy to do that.” She gasped and giggled.

“I could stay like this forever. We are one body, I feel so full
of you.” She continued.

“I can’t stay that long, I’m about to cum.” Joe whispered.

She pushed back on him to start his stroking but only 2 or 3 slow
thrusts put him over.

“Uggh, ughh, uhh, uhh Oooooo! I’m shooting into you. Not much
there but the feeling is awesome.” He said as he flexed and
stroked a few more times before he became over sensitive quickly,
having cum now twice in the hour or so.

Joe almost fell over as he moved from her but regained his
balance enough to plop down on the closed toilet admiring the
round sun-pinked bottom in front of him. Little farts of air
escaped from the red little wrinkle as a small wad of cum oozed
out and went down her leg.

“Oh God! I’m so rude, I’ve got to stand in the shower.” Selena
said as she slowly stood and walked clumsily to the shower and
reaching in to turn the water on and test it’s temperature before
stepping in. She turned a short pirouette under the water before
taking the soap and lathering her bottom crease and washing it
meticulously, pulling at her little hole to let more of the air
pumped into her escape.

“Oooo my little hiney is going to be sore, but worth the trip.”
She said to Joe through the still open shower door.

“How can someone who looks like a pure angel be such a devil
inside?” Joe asked to no one as he admired the pert, firm,
perfect form before him.

“Joe, I know you hate it when I talk like this, but I love being
your little whore, your cum slut when we get behind closed doors.
I crave to have you touch me, fuck me and violate me in every
way. Giving myself to you makes every sex molecule in my body
sing and throb. I live to make you happy, and that, in turn,
makes ME deliriously happy. I truly love you and want to please
you. I dreamt of you standing beside my bed fucking my mouth
while I lay motionless, only my jaw, mouth and tongue moving. I
had that dream a thousand times, wanting to feel like your whore,
your pleaser. Now I don’t have to dream it. We’re together and
I’ll be your whore a thousand more times, but never think of it
as anything but making love Joseph. I truly love you in every way
I can to make you happy. Just thinking about it now makes my
little clittie tingle.”


“Well, I have no words to describe the depth of my love for you
and I cannot bear to hear anyone speak ill of you, and I guess
not even you. But if you want to feel like my whore, my pleaser,
I can’t stop you but you know I respect you to the highest
degree.” Joe said even feeling bad using those words she used
about herself.

“My Joseph, you KNOW that I know that and wouldn’t stay with you
one day if I didn’t think that. Right now it would make me happy
to go out and walk in the afternoon sun along the beach with you.
Holding you next to me while the waves lap at our feet sounds so
romantic.” Selena said as her face brightened and she reached out
to hold Joe close.

“We can do that, it sounds like fun, and yes, sexy too.”

“Prove that, do it with me naked?”

”GOD! You are a tough one! You’re going to make me get used to
this, no matter, huh?”

“Think about how you like to see me naked, well I like to see you
the same way. AND, I’m not afraid to share the way we look, and
we look damn good, with others who feel the same way about their
bodies.” Selena insisted.

“OK, but remember, I like to look, so if my eyes wander . . . .
.”

“Don’t worry, I know you may look but you where your bread is
buttered, um . . or should I say your cock is lubed. Hahahaha, I
can be such a dirty girl!”

“More like CORNY girl, let’s just go before I lose my bravado.”
Joe said as he headed towards the door.

“I’m right behind you, I just want to stop at Dallie’s cottage,
if she’s in I want to invite her to join us for dinner tonight.”
Selena said as she hurried.

“Sounds good.” He said as he walked and put his hand out for Essy
to catch up.

They didn’t meet anyone on the walkway and Joe was getting used
to being commando outside, but he wondered what Dallie’s reaction
would be when she answered the door.

Just as Selena was about to knock they heard a wail from inside
and Joe quickly reacted as if he were about to go in and defend
her when a second wail turned into a low moan followed by
rhythmic reports one might hear when someone was getting laid.
Good and laid!

“I think we should leave.” Selena whispered, glad her first knock
hadn’t hit the door.

As they moved away to continue their walk to the beach Joe turned
back to look through the open sliding door through the screen.
The curtain wasn’t fully closed as he looked in and saw Dallie on
all fours on the sofa being penetrated from behind. He swore they
met eyes and she smiled before dropping her head to moan as she
absorbed another hard push from behind.

“No doubt she’s enjoying it, she smiled at me!” Joe said to
Selena.

“You saw her!”

“Yes, I looked back through the screen and she was getting it
from behind on all fours.”

“Oooo, I wish I had seen those big ol’ titties swinging with the
fuck push.”

“You’re a naughty voyeur, and you wouldn’t have seen much, she
was hanging onto the end of the sofa for dear life.” Joe said to
scold her.

“I love watching mine in the mirror at home. I think it’s sexy.
Hers are a lot bigger than
mine and I‘m just curious. I DON’T want to fuck her, if that’s
what you’re thinking. You like to fantasize about the asses you
admire, I like to fantasize about some women and I would no more
do anything about it than you would.” Selena said defending
herself, sure of her words.

“Calm down there, I didn’t accuse you of anything, just noting
you’re a voyeur, and so am I. If she hadn’t smiled at me I would
still be there looking!” He said with a chuckle.

“God, I hope she knows what she’s getting into with whomever
she’s with.” Selena wondered aloud.

“She’s a big girl, and knows the risks.”

“Did you see the guy?”

“No, my eyes were glued to her, and there wasn’t that much
light.”

“God, maybe he was black and that’s why you didn’t see him.”

“Problem with that?” Joe asked

“No, but if he was, more than likely he’s on staff here which
means he would have access to her whenever he wanted.”

“Selena, whoever it is, let’s not paint him a stalker. She wanted
to get laid and I’m sure whoever it is he liked what he saw.
Forget about it.” Joe said patting her on her bare bottom to
remind her that she was with him and walking nude to the beach.

The beach was almost deserted as most people left to satisfy
their urges after watching each other naked all day, or were
breaking for the dinner hours. This is the time at public beaches
where they fill up with families with kids. Families that ate
dinner early and wanted to avoid the heavy beach goers. That
wasn’t the case here at Chiascuro, there were no children.

They walked slowly in the very edge of the surf where only their
toes and ankles felt the wash of the warm blue ocean water. After
walking slowly with arms locked behind each other for close to a
half hour they saw a sign ahead. “Clothing Required Beyond Dune”.
The dune was more man-made than anything, with sand pushed up to
hide prying eyes, even though there was almost a hundred yard
open space between the two beaches. In all likelihood most of
them on the “clothing” beach, would try the clothing optional at
least once during their stay. The sand, sea, privacy, anonymity,
and general attitude of the resort tended to break down a lot of
inhibitions.

They turned and walked back and started to see some couples out
for an after dinner stroll. The beach would become somewhat
crowded briefly, but as the sun set, it usually only a few
couples braved the dark stroll.

They had slowly walked for just over an hour when they saw Dallie
walking up out of the surf towards a towel she had spread in the
white sand.

They avoided eye contact until they got close and heard Dallie
yell.

“Busted, huh?”

Joe couldn’t help but grin widely.

“I should have pulled the curtain all the way, but I would have
told you I got my wish anyway. I would have burst if I didn’t, it
was so good.” Dallie said, not seeming to be embarrassed.

“You made a new friend, huh? . . and even before the Windswinger
cruise came through.” Selena noted.

Dallie sighed and shook her head. “No, actually it was Dennis, an
acquaintance from back home. We volunteer at the Community
Center. We’ve been doing a flirt back and forth for a long time,
like the last few months or so. He even asked me out before, but
I refused. I told him where I was going and gave him contact
information if I was needed and said, “ if you’re in the area
stop by and see me” as sort of a joke. Well, he must have spent a
fortune on a last minute air fare. He knocked on my door when I
went back to grab some lunch after I saw you two.”
“So, is he going to stay with you the rest of the way?” Selena
asked.

“No, I couldn’t give him that much free reign and I didn’t want
him to make the assumption that I was “his”. The gossip is bad
enough back home. He’s a widower too and all of the church people
have been trying to pair us. That fact alone made me keep my
distance. You know you just hate to satisfy nosy people’s
imaginations. But, when I saw him I knew what was going to
happen. He’s quite an Olympian at sex.”

“Are you really attracted to him and playing somewhat hard to
get? That’s what it sounds like.” Joe observed.

Dallie sighed again. “Yes, I am. I miss him already after I’ve
washed all of him out of me in the ocean. I never in a 100 years
thought he would ever show up here. He said he wanted me that bad
and knew by the way I looked at him back home that I wanted him.
I’m not so sure about that, but I WAS interested, but I promised
to wait the year and it was supposed to be a zipless fuck. This
wasn’t zipless, it was downright passion. I did things I’ve ONLY
done with Michael, it was THAT passionate.”

Joe nodded as if he understood but Selena looked at her confused.

“Oh for God’s sake, you’re going to make me come out and say it?”
Dallie said while Selena still looked confused.

“Oral sex!” Dallie said turning a deep red.

“Oh! . . . ummm, just WHY were you so reluctant to see him back
at home?” Selena asked, just not understanding the situation.

“Oh, small town gossip, knowing grins, smiles, and winks from
those who can’t mind their own business. I guess I’m just self
conscious like that. But, LORD, when I saw him at my door here,
my juices just ran like a faucet, literally.” She exclaimed with
a big smile.

Joe leaned forward and put a hand on her shoulder to be sure she
knew he was bringing her into his confidence. “We found out early
on that all of that is their problem, not yours, or his. Let them
gossip and make up stories, the two of you know the truth and you
deserve to let your love grow, or find out that it won’t work.
True love and affection for another and knowing that the feeling
is mutual can be one of the greatest gifts our species has. Don’t
let it slip away for the thoughts of others. I was a three time
loser at long relationships and had become a hound of sorts with
a long list of usual conquests who were at my door regularly.
Selena was the young, virginal, gifted prodigy, who already had
her career mapped out. She felt a spark she had never felt before
and I resisted with all my might for what I might be accused of.
She literally pinned me to wall with a finger buried in my chest
scolding me for denying us the chance without trying, all for the
vanity of pleasing others thoughts. Now we have the most
beautiful love ever.”

A shiver ran through Odalys with her nipples visibly hardening as
she thought about the prospect of losing what she had just found
by worrying what others thought.

“You two can spend the next week really getting to know each
other and maybe finding out if the attraction is just physical,
which was all you came here looking for, or if you have something
you can build a new loving relationship with.” Selena said hoping
her words would help.

“You know, even my husband would be angry if I let this
opportunity pass. He was so afraid I would shrivel up and die a
widow, mourning him. That’s why he was adamant I make this trip.
I always told him I could never love another.” Dallie said,
nodding to herself that she should follow her instincts and let
what others thought pass.


“How did you leave it with him today?” Joe wondered.

“He was disappointed when I was non-committal about seeing him
again. I told him I would call him, and left it like that.”

“Do you see yourself in a relationship with him, beyond just a
sex partner?” Selena asked.

“Yes, he’s sweet man. I’ve worked at the church with him, as well
as the community center, the Farmers Market. Don’t look at me
funny, these are small town folksy people, and this is how things
get done. The people do it themselves. I had to stay busy after
my Michael was gone or I would have gone crazy. I think he was in
the same boat. He works for the county with farmers assisting
them with grants and like that.”

“Go and find him before he decides to cut bait and go home. You
might not be able to fix that rift. You remember all too well
what a broken heart feels like, right? Don’t let things fester in
his mind. Go get him!” Selena said emphatically.

Joe just nodded and watched Dallie turn and walk away swiftly
towards her place to get dressed. Joe didn’t mind watching her
walk away either.

“Don’t you have a better ass to look at here?” Selena said
smartly, knowing it would get Joe’s goat.

“Yeah, but I can look at yours anytime. That one I have to
memorize.” He said with a kidding chuckle as he threw his arms
around Selena’s waist and picked her up, his package pressed
against the cheeks of her newly tanned ass.

“Now THAT gives ME dirty thoughts. We better get walking before
you have a problem or I have to go in the ocean to take care of
one.” Selena joked as she broke away and jogged ahead of Joe a
few paces.


Close by a now fully dressed Dallie was knocking on the door of
the man she had put off just a few hours ago, after their sexual
tryst. Dennis answered, fully dressed as if he were about to go
out.

“I know you probably have plans for the night Dennis, but can I
have a few minutes of your time?” Dallie said.

“Actually, I was waiting for a bellman to come by and move my
things. I was going to move to one of their other properties on
the island. I only had this for the day. There’s a cruise coming
in tomorrow and all of these rooms are taken.” He said with a bit
of a choke in his voice.

“Is it close by? Are you moving into a cottage like I have?” She
wondered, confused at his demeanor.

“No it’s at the inlet where the boat that brings you here
starts.”

“Why so far?”

“It’s all I could get. I let my mind jump the gun a little. I
sort of thought I was going to be with you. I guess I thought you
invited me here. I’m so sorry. I really hate myself for making
these assumptions in my mind. You know how it is when you spend
so much time alone. Since Kerry died I’ve been a little . . . uh,
I guess nutty is the word.” Dennis said, not quite able to look
her in the eye.

Dallie stepped toward him and took his hand. “Dennis, I haven’t
been totally honest with you. While I never, ever, thought you
would show up here, it was like my most amazing dream come true
when I opened the door and saw you today. I guess after I didn’t
want you to think I was “yours” and . . . .” She said tailing
off, not quite finding the words she wanted to say instead of
“easy”.

“The truth is,” she continued,  “I really want you to come and
stay with me, be with me and let us see if we have that spark we
seemed to have back home. I never let a man in my bed so easily,
but I felt like I knew you and it was destined to be. Maybe
that’s MY mind making wild assumptions. You’re only the third man
I’ve EVER been with. I’m a year alone and I’m here to open up my
life to a man again. Why not with someone I’m truly attracted
to?”

“I don’t know what to say. I tried everything back home to let
you know I was interested and always laughed off when people
would smile and wink, thinking they paired us off in some natural
match made in heaven. I didn’t want to come on strong and scare
you away, yet you were always there when I was doing something to
avoid going crazy from loneliness. But, you always seemed to make
yourself unavailable when a chance came up for us to be alone. I
never knew what to think.” Dennis said near tears, even he unsure
if his tears were happiness or self-pity.

“I was so unfair, I should have just told you the situation. The
truth is, I thought about you sometimes when I was alone.” She
said flushing with embarrassment.

“Don’t be embarrassed, I was often ashamed at myself for doing
the same thing. What happened earlier today wasn’t from pity
because I came so far?’ He asked.

“NO! I told you that you were only the third man I’ve been with.
Dennis, you were and are special. The little dance I was playing
with you at home was a very poor decision. I should have been up
front with you.” Dallie admitted.

“I should have been more assertive, . . . and honest.” Dennis
said reaching out for Dallie to step into his arms.

As Dennis’ arms encircled her Dallie felt wanted and needed for
the first time in a long, long time as she gripped him tight to
herself.

“Come back to my cottage, make love to me.” Dallie said boldly.
“What we did before was just lust, it was fucking.” She chuckled,
“and I really needed a fucking.”

“There was no passion?” Dennis asked, seemingly disappointed.

“I would be lying if I said no. Using my mouth . . . . . uh . . .
 . That’s . . . . . . . .I’m so sorry to be embarrassed after I
was so brash. You were only the second. You’re that special. I
was so cold and mean to send you away, so afraid to let someone
in. But I know I should give us a chance. I just met another
couple who almost threw it away, and one of them took the
initiative and now it’s one of the great love stories. They
thought I should do the same.”

Dennis let go of her for a moment and picked up the hotel phone
and waited for the desk to pick up. He explained the change of
plans and that for the aide to still show, but to just move his
things to Dallies cottage. Then, off they went to walk to the
cottages.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------

Selena and Joe got back from their walk and were hungry. Joe
quickly went for the recliner and thrust out the bottom to put
his feet up.

“Oh no you don’t! You aren’t going to lie there for 5 minutes and
fall asleep and then tell me you’re too tired for dinner.” Selena
said as she laughed and un-reclined the chair with its electric
switch.

“If you’re saying I’m too old to just lay down for a minute, Come
here I’LL SHOW YOU WHO’S NOT AN OLD MAN!” Joe said as he grabbed
his package for emphasis.

“I’m not saying you’re old, I’m saying I screwed the daylights
out of you today and your body can’t take anymore.” Selena said
with hands on hips and a smart attitude in her voice.

“Bring that little mouth over here and I’ll bet I’ll be screwing
your lights out in a few minutes.” Joe said in a faux challenge.

“Another good screwing and I’ll be ready for a nap and I’m sure
that’s what you have in mind. Not going to happen. I want some of
those big prawns roasted over an open grill with roasted veggies.
It’s all I’ve been thinking of since I got here, let’s go to
dinner.”
 She declared as she started to put on a bathing suit and looked
for a cover up to make herself decent for public places.

“Oh boy, you mean we’re wearing clothes!” Joe said in a mocking
tone.

“Joey, See? You’re tired and grouchy!”

“I’M NOT! Where do you want to go?” Joe defended as he looked for
shorts and a tee.

“There’s the big open grill place just up West End Road, I know
it’s still open,  I could smell the smoke the night we arrived
and I saw an ad in the welcome package.” She said excitedly.

“OK, lets go! Walk or call Gregory?”

“Let’s walk to the main house and if Gregory isn’t busy, OK.
Otherwise we can walk and get a pager number for him to get
home.” Selena decided.

As they walked toward the main house they passed Dallie’s cottage
and she was meeting Gregory with all of Dennis’ things.

“Moving out?” Joe hollered from the walk.

“No, Dennis is moving in. I came to my senses.” She said with an
embarrassed smile.

Just then Dennis walked out the door to see who she was talking
with.

“Dennis, I want you to meet Selena and Joe, my new friends. Be
nice to them, if not for them you might be on your way to the
Montego resort. They talked sense to me.” Dallie said as they
exchanged handshakes.

“Do you think you two can keep your hands off each other long
enough to go to dinner with us?” Selena asked with a big grin.

Dallie looked at Dennis and he motioned her inside holding up a
finger to Joe and Selena as if to ask, “wait a minute”.

Inside Dennis asked Dallie, “I know you to be a friendly sort,
but you don’t really know these two and you trust them with
personal stuff and now you want to leave with them?”

“Dennis, I’m not that naïve. They are special people. They aren’t
exactly faces you see in the news every day, but their story has
been out for a bit. They want to remain anonymous. Have you read
about the couple who survived 911 in the Towers and found each
other 10 years later?” She asked.

“Oh God! The blonde!! I knew she looked familiar in a sense. So
you know celebrities?”
Dennis asked.

‘They’re a sweet couple and don’t want to talk about the ordeal,
but I do trust them, they want to remain as anonymous as
possible. They aren’t scam artists or anything like that. We
exchanged a lot of personal stuff in the few hours we’ve spent
and I think I have friends that will last for a long time. I
really want to go with them. This is just the thing to cement our
friendship. My Michael called it “breaking bread” and thought it
was a very intimate way to get to know people. What do you say?”
She asked.

“Bringing up your husband isn’t making points with my ego, I’ll
say that.” Dennis said uncomfortably.

“Dennis, let’s get one thing straight. I’ll never stop loving
Michael, just as, I expect, you’ll never stop loving your wife. .
. and never call my husband or your wife “my ex”. We’ll both be
married to them forever. It doesn’t mean I can’t love you as
well, and I really want to, but don’t treat them as jilted
lovers. Now, I would really like to go with them. What do you
say?”

“I say, I’m liking you more and more all of the time. I like your
style. I’ve worried about trying to put someone on her pedestal
and you’re just told me that there’s room for two on that.”
Dennis said as Dallie stuck her head out and hollered, “We’re in,
give us a minute.”

Chapter 31

Over dinner Joe and Selena couldn’t believe that Dennie and
Dallie were denying their attraction to each other when they were
back at home. They seemed like the perfect couple, perhaps even
drawn together because they both experienced the heartbreak of
losing their spouse. Although they had that afternoon satisfied
the physical attraction to each other, their eventual connection
must have been inevitable.

“I must say, you seem to know so much about each other, the two
of you must have been keeping notes.” Selena claimed as she shook
her head at their obvious attraction.

Dallie flashed her eyes at Dennis as if she were about to say
something he may not approve of. “Ummm, he was so supportive of
me after I lost Michael, it wasn’t long after the funeral that I
realized he was special and I could become interested. BUT, when
the busybodies began to push us together I resisted, not wanting
anyone to think I was desperate to have a man, although I was,
but I had my promise to Michael. But then, the real “churchy” old
folks would make comments about “my wedding vow” and “mourning
time”. Everyone just seemed to be in my business. They all meant
well, but it did sort of force me to reject Dennis, at least
publicly.”

“I was so flustered,” Dennis continued, “That when she jokingly
said to drop in if I was in the area I was determined to find her
here. I guess I feared public rejection back home, but you can
tell by the way a person looks at you. They can communicate their
feelings. The last time I saw Dallie back in Rome she looked at
me with eyes I only know as want. Her off the cuff comment had a
certain amount of truth in it, a seriousness, or wish in it.”

Odalys had a longing look on her face once again now as she
reached and took both of Dennis hands, which were folded in front
of him on the table, into hers as she looked into his eyes,
almost as if Joe and Selena weren’t even there.

“Dennis, I want to finish our time together here as our little
relationship honeymoon. I can make no promises as to what will
happen when we get home. To judge how I’ll feel then would be
unfair to say now. Right now, I DO really want you in my life.
But, even you’ll have to admit, that when we get home our
feelings might be different. I’m not worried about facing others
in town, or what the gossips will say. Just remember that I
always looked at life there as a Michael and I proposition. I
really WANT to think that I can change that to a Dennis and I
outlook. Do you understand that? The last thing I want to do is
break your heart over mis-understood feelings. You and I both
know what we want to be when we get back. Old feelings and
memories might change things. Are we square on that?”

“I understand. I even had a little remorse when I got back to my
room this afternoon, but when I opened my door and saw you, I
have to admit that those feelings went away. To say I think I
could love you is a great possibility, but right now there is
passion and lust to deal with, agreed?’

“Jeepers! You two belong on one of those afternoon talk shows,
Dr. Phil or whatever they are.” Selena said.

Joe laughed, “ Since when do YOU watch those shows, my little
workaholic?”
Selena’s face sobered quickly and she looked at Joe with dead pan
seriousness, “I didn’t spend EVERY waking moment thinking about
you. They had TV’s on to stimulate us in the hospital.”

Joe shot his eyes quickly to Dennis and then to Selena, not
wanting to give their “celebrity” away. But Dallie caught the
look.

“Dennis knows, he’s cool. He questioned how I could trust total
strangers, whom I knew nothing about. He understands.” Dallie
said quietly.

Dennis put on a half smile and extended a hand to Joe,
“Congratulations to both of you on your little triumphs over
terror. I’m sure it wasn’t easy and I mention it again. I know I
could never understand how you feel and how you dealt with
everything, but God Bless You both.”
 Joe smiled and Selena whispered a quiet “Thank You” just as the
waitress came to their table.

“Can I interest you in a native dessert?” She asked.

“Name something.” Joe said.

“Umm, the house specialty is what we call “Drunken Fruit”. It’s
mango, banana, pineapple, and star fruit in a dark rum bath with
fresh cinnamon over it. I would just suggest you not drink any
more tonight until you get home if you get it. It serves four
nicely.”

“I’m in!” Selena said quickly and everyone else nodded and the
waitress was off to prepare the dessert.

The four of them laughed at Selena’s eagerness for the rum and
fruit concoction. After they finished it any thought of walking
back to the resort was dashed by the darkness and late of the
hour. They called the Chiascuro for a lift back and were told the
jitney would be there directly for them and NOT to start walking
back.

Selena closed her phone and told the rest what the resort had
said and then as if in a drunken dream asked, “What the fuck is a
jitney?”

They all laughed loudly causing the maître d’ to come out and
call to them in his heavy island/British accent.

“Please wait inside for your ride. There are too many scalee-wags
along the road for you to draw attention to yourselves.”

The four heeded his call but not before Selena asked, under her
breath, “What the fuck is a scalee-wag?”, causing them to break
out laughing again.

The short ride home was quiet as the settling in the seats of the
“jitney” van and the alcohol began to take a toll on all of them.
The two couples were transferred to the courtesy carts they all
first arrived in and brought to their respective cottages.

Joe and Selena undressed and made slow passionate love until they
fell asleep without really consummating their union that night,
with neither of them feeling slighted at all.

Selena woke the next morning as the sun began to peep through the
upper casement windows. Joe’s heavy snore probably assisted in
her rousing, but she quietly got up, letting him sleep. She put
on her bikini and decided to go out and take in the morning sun.
as she reached the door she thought about the fact they had
paraded nude for the last few days and reached behind herself to
untie her top. Her bottom would stay on since she was leaving
without a towel. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, just
over a dune near the cottage where one lone palm was and she
could face the sun and watch the mist rise from each breaking
wave as she stared into it. It brought her mellow feelings of
peacefulness.

As she got closed in on the dune it was apparent someone was
sitting towards the ocean side of it as their head came into view
as she got nearer. She was about to veer off to find her own
place of solitude when she realized it was Odalys, and she was
crying.

“Dallie, honey, are you OK? Is there anything I can do, or don’t
you want to talk?”

“Please sit with me. I’m so torn, yet so happy, and so guilty all
at once.” She said as Selena saw she was dressed as she was,
topless with only a bottom to protect her goodies from the sand.

“Remember I told you yesterday that Dennis was quite the sexual
athlete?”

“An Olympian, I believe you said.”

“Yes, well that was an understatement. I thought my Michael was a
virile experienced lover, but unless not having sex with Michael
for the last 20 months changed the way I remember it, I didn’t
know what hot sex was.” She said tearfully.

“You can’t compare lovers Dallie, it’s all expression of feelings
and . . .” Selena started before Dallie stopped her.

“No, Michael made me happier than I EVER felt and just looking at
him made me wet and want him, but I never knew how many times I
could . . . . umm, be happy . . uhhh . .”

“Cum?”

“Yes, CUM in a night. Last night and yesterday afternoon I came
more than I did in all my time with Michael. Not that I wasn’t
happy with Michael. I mean, he never asked me about oral sex and
I never thought I would EVER do that, yet one day I was just so
much in love with him I did it to please him as much as I was by
him. It seemed so natural and it shocked him that I would do it.
Yesterday Dennis’ penis just came close to my face as he was
switching positions and I went at it like a hungry wolf. He was
bending me in ways I never knew you could reach each other’s
junk. I thought I was such a sexual person and he made me feel
like a virgin. Well actually, quite literally, he did something
to me that I never imagined and it was exciting, yet very scary.
You’ll think I’m awful.” She said as she wiped away a tear.

“As long as you both consented to everything you may have done
and it was done out of passion and love, you can feel no regrets.
Joe and I often practice what I think you’re talking about. It’s
different, exciting and VERY passionate. It’s making love.” She
said to console her and allay fears of chastisement.

“I thought he just missed but he started with fingers and I
didn’t know what to say, he had me so strung out and wanting so
much more. There was pain but I ignored it. I never felt so
vanquished, so taken.” She said, her face reddening.

Selena reached out to hug her and Odalys embraced her, crying
out, “It was so dirty, so passionate, and I wanted nothing less
at the moment. I feel so many great things about this man.”

“You have to slow down on your feelings a bit. Even you realize
that things can change once you get home. But while you’re here,
let yourself go as far as you feel you can. If you feel the love,
let it flow, but talk to him like you talked to me. Let him know
how innocent your sex life was before.” Selena said before
breaking the hug and looking Dallie in the eyes, whereupon Dallie
kissed her.

“You are so special to have here at this time.” She said after
the kiss.

She then flushed again saying, “I’ve experienced the feeling of
receiving oral sex before, but Dennis consumed me. It was so
fulfilling on its own. He never stopped!”

“Dallie, I am, in no way, a woman who has experienced a lot of
lovers. I’ve been with 2 men. One of those stupidly and briefly,
and Joe. Luckily, Joe is a sex animal and when he loves me; he
loves me with passion and variety. Things I imagined as perverted
and certain doorways to hell and worse became commonplace in our
sexual relationship and I enjoyed every moment because it all
happened consensually and with passionate feelings of love
between us. Never go down a road where you don’t want to, or feel
trepidation about. You’ll know if he is the right man by how you
feel after the hangover.”

“The hangover?”

“Yes, the love hangover, or maybe the morals hangover. It’s what
you’re experiencing right now. Sitting her wondering what you
just did with him makes you feel ashamed or wanting to go back
and let it all happen again.” Selena gently explained.

“If I can be so rude, I’d love to run back and shove my pussy
into his face, he made me feel so good before. He’s such an
animal, God forgive me for telling you this. He worshipped my
pussy with his mouth and then did the same thing to my other side
and I had fingers in me everywhere and I was unable to speak, I
was so overwhelmed. Then in one move he knelt before my face and
I knew what I wanted to do and did it and then he picked me up
and laid me over the edge of the bed, poked a fingerful of spit
in my rear and then made love to me there. It hurt like hell at
first but he was wrapped around me whispering in my ear to breath
deep while his fingers mauled my nipples and suddenly he began to
move and it was wonderful in so many ways. It was like I was on a
drug and he was all I wanted. I craved him and the burn in my
rear didn’t matter, but he knew and stopped, saying something
about having lube the next time as he stroked his penis in front
of my face. I thought he was going to explode on my breasts until
I realized both he and I wanted it in my mouth. I couldn’t
believe I let it happen and I couldn’t believe I WANTED it to
happen. You must think I’m the worst woman in the world, but I
want to go back and do it all again.”

Selena felt uncomfortable to hear the “confession”, but she
understood everything she was feeling, for she had told the same
things to Lucy early in her relationship with Joe. Another reason
for feeling uncomfortable was the fact her own sex was running
like a faucet now and she wanted to get home to Joe as soon as
she could.

Selena hadn’t spoken and Odalys didn’t know how to take her
silence and began apologizing.

“God, honey, I’m so sorry for burdening you with all of this, you
must think I’m awful.”

“No, not at all. It just reminds me of when Joe and I began to
experience all of the same things and the ways I felt. I knew
right away I was in love and in lust with Joe. The love and the
lust never faded for me or Joe. Now you have to work on that. If
he is the man you want, it will become obvious to you the first
times you’re apart. Let things happen and follow your heart. Now
go back and be with your lover.” Selena said as matronly as she
could sound as she got to her feet and planned to head back to
Joe.

“Thank you so much and,  . . . uh . . . this is just us? . . .
right?”

“Yes, your words are just ours. I share everything with Joe, but
not this. I understand. Go.”

Odalys got up and brushed the sand stuck to the back of her
thighs and looked at Selena.

“You’ve made me feel so much better about everything on this
trip. I thought I was going to be a siren, and instead I’m the
virgin with so much to learn. Thanks for giving me confidence.”
Dallie said as she rushed off.

Selena stood and knew what she wanted. The sun wasn’t too high
yet and she knew Joe would still be sleeping, but she knew a few
tricks to wake him to continue what they hadn’t finished the
night before. Falling asleep while making love wasn’t exactly the
insult one might think. They were spooning and both ready to
collapse from exhaustion after a long day of sun, fun, food, and
alcohol. Joe was hugging her tightly to him whispering “sweet
nothings” in her ear as he filled her in their spoon. She smiled
to herself at his sweet words and relaxed into her pillow and Joe
rested onto her and the next thing she knew the sun was peaking.

As she rushed back to their cottage she was aware that she was
the only person out and maybe half of the only couple not making
love that morning. That would change soon.

Walking into the cottage she was surprised to hear the shower
going and their bed empty. She slipped out of her bikini bottom
and opened the bathroom door. Joe was facing away from her and
she quietly opened the glass door to the shower and made a grab
at Joe’s ass.

“You better be fast honey, my wife will be back real soon.” Joe
said without missing a beat while Selena responded by giving him
a solid crack on the butt.

“Your chances of a blowjob in the shower just went down the
drain.” She said cracking him a second time on his butt.

“Even if I’ve been thinking about you and hoping you’d be back
soon?” Joe said as he turned and displayed a full erection.

“Oooooooo, well maybe it won’t be a blowjob, but I still think I
can think of something to do with that.” Selena said as she
turned and bent reaching between her legs and using her fingers
to form a V holding her lips open.

Joe didn’t hesitate and scrunched his knees down a bit to get
into her and slid in easily.

“Wow, you’ve been thinking about me, or at least thinking about
little Joe.”

“I was going to come in and wake you up with my lips around that
beautiful penis, but this is better. God, I wanted you so bad
this morning and THIS is what I wanted.” She said panting a bit.

“We had to finish what we started last night anyway. It was
beautiful falling asleep inside you.” He said between breaths.

“Mmmm, it was.  I dreamt about you all night, about how I missed
you in the hospital. But let me tell you that your cock is MUCH
better than FINGERS.” She said as her voice rose to a high pitch
as she orgasmed.

“I’ll never be away from you again and make love to you every
day.” Joe said as he sped his strokes into her building to his
own orgasm.

Suddenly he groaned loudly and pulled from her squirting his load
onto her back, the water washing it away quickly. Selena reached
back and took him into her hand and as she began to kneel before
him kept stroking him until her face was right in front of his
dick.

“Save a little for me?” She said with a teasing pout as she put
the head in her mouth and Joe pulsed a small pearl of cum, all he
had left, for her.

“Mmmmm, the bottom of the balls is always the best part.” She
giggled, licking her lips, causing Joe to force one more large
pearl that she missed.

“Ohhh I missed that one.” She laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make more.” He joked as she stood and took the
soap and began to wash herself and Joe grabbed the shampoo to
finish his shower as well.

Selena chuckled to herself each time they walked by Dallie’s
cottage and saw the shades drawn and the NO SERVICE TODAY DO NOT
DISTURB sign on the door. She figured Dallie may be walking a
little funny by day’s end and Dennis would have a smile burned
into his face. She really hoped they each had found someone, and
especially Odalys. She had been so happy, sexually, with Michael
and now Dennis opened so many new doors for her she was having a
real new couples honeymoon all over again with all of its thrills
and surprises.

It had been a lazy day for both Joe and Selena who spent the day
at the beach tanning and playing a bit in the water, but overall
just enjoying the freedom to just relax with no worries of
anything. The only time they left was to go back to the cottage
for a light lunch and grab a new book to read. Life was beautiful
and so were they.

In the middle of the afternoon in between reading, napping and
taking occasional dips in the azure blue water Joe sat up
straight in his lounge and said “I’ve got a great idea!”.

“Seeing as how you’re acting like it’s the first in a long while
let me hear it.” Selena said putting her book down.

“We’ve only got a couple nights left here and I saw the sign
twice today, why not go to the house barbeque tonight, their
having giant grilled prawns, island veggies and rum runners. It’s
only a $100 dollars each. They have those signs out every day for
the free dinner barbeque, but it’s usually hot dogs or jerk
chicken and beer. This is the only one they charge for and it’s
the only one the riff-raff will stay away for. The WindSwinger
Cruisers all left this morning so just the serious couples will
be there tonight. We’d spend a couple hundred on food and drinks
if we went out and we can stay here and meet and greet with the
others scattered about the beach.” Joe uncharacteristically
bubbled.

“We just had prawns but, if I remember correctly the shrimp here
are as big as baby’s legs and rum runners make me horny as all
get out. I’m in, . . . as long as you’re buying.” She joked.
“If I buy you dinner, I’m getting laid tonight.” Joe said

“You might even get hummer wash for your dinkie.” She joked.

“Dinkie?  Please, a little respect for the monster.” Joe laughed
as they bumped fists, adding, “I love it when you talk slutty,
not all the time, just when you’re being cute.”

As the sun began to go down behind them, they knew it was close
to 5 o’clock or close. They picked up the few things they had
brought and folded up the beach chairs and put them in the rack
near the palm grouping 2-33 that they had sort of claimed as
their own.

As they neared Dallie’s cottage they saw the blinds open on the
slider so Selena ran up ahead and knocked. Dallie came out in a
long t-shirt, obviously not hers.

“Why don’t you guys come up for air and go to dinner with us
again, right here at the resort, our treat.” Selena asked,
noticing that Dallie’s hair was in great disarray.

“If I can wake Dennis up. I think I wore him out, or he wore me
out.” She said just as Joe caught up to Selena.

“Why don’t you ask them to join us honey?” Joe asked.

“I already did, she’s not sure she can wake Dennis up.”

“Tell her your special method.” Joe said with a grin and walked
away.

“What does he mean? What’s so funny?” Odalys asked.

Selena leaned in to her ear and whispered, “I peel back the
sheets and put his cock in my mouth. Works every time.”

Odalys turned crimson and then squealed, “Ooooo, that will be
fun.”

“We’ll be by at 6:30. Please come with us, it’s grilled giant
shrimp, veggies and rum runners.”

“I’ll do my best to rouse him. Uh . . . you know what I mean.”
Dallie said with a grin.


Back in their cottage Joe and Selena each showered to wash the
sand and surf of the day from them, being careful not to get too
close to where they would end up getting too sexual. After the
day at the beach, a roll in the hay would have both of them
asleep before dinner and Selena wanted to save all of that for
after dinner with a full stomach and a few rum runners under her
belt. A Chiascuro Rum Runner is 12 ounces over 4 ounces of
crushed ice in a frozen glass and has 4 different rums, 2
flavored brandy’s, with a 5th rum, 151 proof, to sit on the top.
Your third one is usually your last, it usually comes out on a
little plastic stretcher if you’ve had the same server all night.
After their shower and a little relaxing they started over to
Dallies cottage.

“Do you remember what you called their rum runners the first time
we were here?” Joe asked as they walked.

“Umm . . . it was something sexy or dirty, I really can’t recall.
I was usually pretty drunk after a couple.” Selena replied,
miffed that it escaped her mind.

“You said they should call them Pussy Juice, and when I asked why
you said to stick my fingers in and feel how wet they made you.
You were pretty drunk.” Joe laughed.

“Did you take advantage of me that night?”

“You bet, until we both passed out.”

“Good boy!!” she exclaimed offering him a fist bump.

They walked through the sand and as they started up the walk to
Dallie’s Selena stopped and looked queerly at Joe.

“What is it?” Joe asked as if something was very wrong.

“Oh my God! I started thinking about what you said, you know the
things I said about the drinks and calling them Pussy Juice. At
the time I had no recollection, and now it’s like a whole door
opened in my head and that whole trip and all the hassle I had
with my Mom and Dad over it. The asshole trying to hit on me to
go to Spring Break with him at PolyTech. Holy Shit it’s like a
whole freaking movie playing out in my head. How many other
memory doors are there to be opened.” Selena said holding her
temples with her eyes squinted as if in deep thought.

“I mean, are you OK? Is there headache or anything?”

“NO, no. Just the rush of everything coming to light, like there
was a tarp over it all and it suddenly got pulled off. Shit we
had a good time and we must have made love a hundred times.” She
marveled.

“You mean you didn’t remember that?”

“No I knew we were here and had a great time and made love a lot,
but every little detail is coming out like it happened a few days
ago. It’s quite a rush.” She said.

“So are you OK, do you want to go back and lay down?”

“No, I’m fine, it was just the rush of it all.” She insisted.

Dallie and Dennis came out front to meet them as they approached,
both looking well rested, but definitely a little slow to
reality.

“You two just got up, didn’t you?” Joe asked.

Dallie smiled real big and winked at Selena causing her to give
Joe a little elbow and say, “Leave them alone, they’re
honeymooning.”

“Oh! OK!” Joe grinned as they started the walk to the main house.

“Just why are we walking?” Dennis complained.

“We called Gregory, but he didn’t have an opening after 6:30 so
he’s going to meet us along the way. We didn’t call until late.”
Selena said, not really worried if they had to walk.

They made small talk and soon they were off the sand path and in
the walkway beside the paved thoroughfares for the carts. From
around a stand of palms ahead they saw Gregory speeding his cart
up the macadam towards them.

“Oh, Johnsons I’m so sorry for being late. Everyone wanted 6:30.”
Gregory began to apologize.

“Not to worry my friend. The walk is fine.” Joe said as he and
Selena sat on the back seat and let Dallie and Dennis get in the
seat behind Gregory.

Selena held Joe’s arm tight as they zoomed to the main house, not
liking the rear jump seat. She breathed a sigh of relief as she
realized they were just moving onto the wider path near the main
house. The smell of the wood fire and sounds of laughter and
merriment told her they were near just as the cart slowed to a
halt.

Gregory rushed to help the women alight and he showed them to the
admissions gate for the Shrimp Roast. Joe quickly flashed 4 100
dollar bills and they were whisked in and taken to a small 4
person picnic table by a server who quickly took a drink order.

Dallie and Dennis sat close and their hands were holding the
inside of the others leg.

“Haven’t you two had enough today?” Selena asked with a big
smile.

“For the first time in my life, I don’t know what enough is.
We’ve really gotten to KNOW each other the last two days after
we’ve known each other for about the last 6 or 8 months. People
trying to throw is together threw us both off, but getting
together here was the best idea this man (hugging her head to his
arm) ever had. We’ve both admitted how much we’ve wanted each
other over the last 3 or 4 weeks especially.” Dallie said before
Dennis smiled and add, “It was hard to get a moment alone where I
could really ask her out or at least tell her how I felt towards
her. Calling seemed so awkward, so, uh . . . high school. So when
she said to drop by if I was in the area, I took her serious. I
just figured it was now or never.”

“Now we just don’t know how to act when we get back home.” Dallie
said looking longingly at Dennis.

“When people see you look at him that way, they’ll know.” Joe
told him.

“It’s none of their business anyway. You know, don’t be snotty
about it, just tell people you’ve admired each other a long time
and have decided to get to know each other better. Let people
take that any way they want, and just like when you were married,
what happens behind closed doors is none of their business. Why
should they judge you as long as you’re happy? If anyone really
has a problem with it, they aren’t your friends anyway.” Selena
professed, knowing how to deal with adversity and people talking
behind your back.

With small talk and relationship talk and advise out of the way
the servers began bringing drinks and appetizers and all of the
tables seemed to get quiet until the grilled shrimp came out and
the ooo’s and ahhh’s could be heard from each table. The prawns
were no more than 5 or 6 to a pound and the native woods used in
the grill just added to the exotic flavors they had been brushed
with. The island veggies were fresh and crisp; basted on the
grill with some of the same glaze the prawns were treated to. The
prawns kept coming until they had their fill, and more than 4
would fill you, for sure. The servers came around asking who
might like coffee or coffee / liqueur combos.

“I think one more round of Rum Runners before we get to coffee,”
Joe said.

The server smiled at him winking her eye, something not missed by
Selena, and said,
“I’m sorry, we can only bring 2 rounds of those to the table.
They are still available at the Rum Bar, but you must go and get
your own.”

Then she leaned into the table to say something privately, but
looking right at Joe with another suggestive wink, “I think they
want to make sure you can still stand and walk to get a third.”

Selena motioned her over as if to ask a private question and she
took the girls arm in her hand squeezing it tightly to where her
fingernails began to dig into her skin while she whispered in her
ear.
“Keeping looking at my husband that way and I’ll kick your ass
all over the island.”

The server abruptly stood up and put her tray under her arm to
use her hand to rub the spot where she had been grabbed. She
looked around the table quickly, speaking as if now in a big
hurry. “So, no dessert drinks for you now. Thank you.”

“My dear Selena, I take that you took umbrage with the way she
flirted with me? You know there’s no reason for you to be
jealous.” Joe said, unhappy that she had made the little scene.

“Joe, I went through hell to . . . . umm, well you know the
story, but I told her I would kick her ass if she came onto you
again. I think she was going to give the “I thought you were his
daughter” bull shit and then I would have dropped her right
here.” She said sweetly, the tone of her voice denying the
intensity and seriousness of her words.

“OoooooKAY! I think someone has had enough to drink but will
insist on one more to mellow her out.” Joe said as he stood and
motioned to Dennis that they both go to the Rum Bar and get a
round.

As soon as they left Selena looked at Dallie, “I’m sorry, but
when they openly flirt like I’m not here it just enrages me. I
don’t worry about Joe, his roving days are over, but little sluts
and whores like that just piss me off.”

Dallie was supportive and told her so and then looked to be sure
they were alone and she would have time to talk intimately.

“Can I bother you one more time with talk about sex?” She asked
sheepishly.

“Sure, I’m wasted enough, go ahead.” She giggled.

“I’ve had more sex in the last 36 hours than I’ve had in the last
3 years. I thought Michael and I were active, but Dennis is . . .
um . . . just wonderful! I’ve found that I was not very
experienced and he’s just been so patient and loving with me.
We’ve done things I thought were beyond the fringe of normalcy
and it’s all done with love and patience. That, and he doesn’t
ask if he can do something, we just seem to get into a rhythm
where things happen. I told you before that he took my “other”
virginity and we’ve been there again and even with a little pain
to start, it was so passionate and affectionate. He’s proved so
much to me about my body, my feelings, and what love can mean. I
don’t want this to ever end and I’m so afraid it will when we get
home.” She finished with a tear in her eye.

“Why does it have to end?” Selena asked.

“Can we be so loving at home, so carefree about things like we
are here?” Dallie asked confused.

“It’s a good thing you caught me while I’m a little drunk, I
usually don’t talk this way, but, when you get home and are
driving from the airport, give him a little road head.”

“Road head?”

“A blowjob, right in the car. Set the standard for how you want
it.”
“How do I do that?” Dallie asked avoiding the obvious.

“You reach over and grab at his cock and as soon as it’s too
uncomfortable for him, take it out.” Selena said with a big
smile.

“You’ve done that before haven’t you?” Dallie said,
incredulously.

“Oh yes I have. My man knows what I like, and I like to keep it
hot. You know the first time we were here we made love every way
you can think of, every day! When we were on our way home he told
me that it was relationship honeymoon sex and we would probably
never have days like that again, but he would remember them
forever. He said it always worked that way. I made sure it
didn’t.  He’s putty in my hands when I want him to be. I just
need to walk past him and show him my ass and he’s on me, he
wants me. All he has to do is hold me, squeeze my ass and nip at
my ear and his cock is down my throat. I want to devour him. We
might go a couple days without making love, and then make love 4
times a day for the next week. We both know what we both want,
and we both want each other ALL of the time. Once he knew I was
always open, he was hooked, just as I am to him. So if you crave
to have him in your mouth, can’t wait to taste his seed, have him
fuck you till it hurts, and when it does, . . .  turn over and
give him your bottom and have him slide right up into your very
being with him breathing in your ear. If you crave all of this,
and he craves right back, you know HE’S the ONE.” Selena said
finishing her drunken tale of debauchery.

“Wow, you’ve got me horny just thinking about all of that,
because that’s how we’ve been the day and a half. We’ve been
animals, horny dogs, and loved every second of it.” Dallie said
flushing.

“Just don’t let it stop when you get home, IF . . .you still feel
the same way.” Selena said as she nodded towards their two men
coming to the table, each with two Rum Runners in their hands.

“Dallie, the boys are here and they both have two handfuls of
Pussy Juice.” She laughed drunkenly.

“Excuse my naughty mouthed wife, but she says these must be Pussy
Juice because they make her so wet.” Joe said boldly as he sat
down and covered her mouth with his and they necked for a bit.

Dallie looked at the two of them and then to Dennis.
“I think we’ve all had too much to drink, but isn’t that why we
came here, to indulge?”

Dennis got a serious look on his face and said to her, “I came
here to tell you that I loved you.”

“Oh God Dennis, don’t say things out of passion. I think I love
you too, but let’s not get all hung up in that war of feelings
and wondering what he thinks, she thinks. Let’s let this happen
and turn out as it may. If I didn’t have deep feelings for you do
you think I’d have given myself to you the way I have? Let’s just
enjoy every moment we have here and see what happens when we get
home. No one wants this to work more than me, so let’s just have
fun.” She said finishing with a kiss on his cheek before turning
to Joe and Selena and poking her.

“OK, you two, either get a room or join the party.”

Selena broke her kiss with Joe and looked at the two of them
saying, “I told you these made me horny as hell, but I’ll be
good.”

The four of them drank their last drink slowly as they began to
mellow out and nibble at the dessert cakes they brought around.
Little by little the ice melting in the drinks made them too weak
to sip and the coffee Joe had motioned for seemed inviting.

As the 11 o’clock ending time began to roll around the carts
began to line up to bring guests back to their rooms and
cottages. Gregory came to their table. As he came towards them
Joe looked up and smiled at him, “Gregory! Are we up?”

“I have one group ahead of you Sir. Is that satisfactory? I can
find you another shuttle if you’re in a hurry.” Gregory said
politely. “I’ll come by the back road to your left here, Sir.
About 5 or 6 minutes.”

“That’s fine Gregory. We’ll be ready.” Joe said as Gregory went
off and helped two other couples into his shuttle cart and drove
away.

While Joe was the most sober of the drunken quartet he did his
best to round them up and safely walk towards the back lower
shuttle path that Gregory alluded to. There was a bench and Joe
encouraged the other three to sit and not wander onto the paved
path. True to his word, Gregory was there in the 5 minutes he
promised. Joe made sure the girls sat on the inside seat while he
and Dennis sat in the rear jump seat and dropped the little used
upper harness over the two of them. Joe kept the four of them
talking to be sure no one dozed off on the short ride back to the
cottage area.
 When the cart pulled up to Dallie’s cottage both Joe and Selena
got out as well telling Gregory they would walk to theirs, as it
was a short trip.

As they went to walk the path to their cottage Odalys ran up to
Selena and hugged her, whispering in her ear, “Thank you so much
for all your thoughts and words about Dennis and I. You really
helped me out with things I wasn’t so sure about.”

Selena smiled and kissed her cheek, but she was anxious to be
with Joe. She had just grabbed his arm when Dennis hollered out.
“We could all strip down and go down to the ocean and play.”

“We’ll play by ourselves, thank you.” Joe yelled back, “and
you’re in no shape to be near the water. Dallie take care of
him.”
Selena looked back to see Dallie pushing him in the sliding door
with hands on either side of his khaki shorts pushing them down.

Selena laughed as they disappeared into the cottage saying
“She’ll settle him down quickly.”

“I hope he wasn’t thinking of a foursome, because even drunk,
that’s a stupid idea if he’s trying to win her heart. I guess
he’s pretty uh . . . over the top in the bedroom.” Selena said
cuddling into the crook of Joe’s arm and shoulder as they walked.

“He told me Odalys was pretty “white milk and dry toast” with sex
and he was trying to turn her into a triple-decker sandwich with
the works. I guess she’s quite the willing firecracker.”

“She’s pretty breathless trying to keep up with him, but he
hasn’t dealt anything she can’t handle. She loves the sex she
always thought was dirty sex.” Selena confided.

“Sounds like you.” Joe said with a chuckle in his voice.

“I tried everything you could deal because I loved you so much. I
couldn’t get enough and you were patient with me. Every girl and
every guy needs an experienced mentor to show them where
fulfillment lies. I just happened to be in love with mine, the
way it should be.” Selena said pulling him a little tighter.

“After I got my confidence and knew HOW to make a woman crazy I
sought out prospective uh . . . students. I’m not proud of that
now, but then it was exciting and daring.” Joe said, a little
embarrassed.

“Well, schools out and the teacher is retired.” Selena said
stopping abruptly and turning into Joe, her hand thrust under his
balls to grab them firmly, not hurting him.

“Don’t worry about me, baby. I lost what I had and was lucky
enough to find it. I even hope to die before you because I
couldn’t live without you.”

“GOD, don’t talk like that! I thought we were both dead once and
it was a nightmare that never seemed to end.” Selena said with
fear in her voice.

“Honey, people don’t live forever and it’s something we need to
talk about seriously someday, how to handle the end, but this is
not the time or place for that.” Joe explained as he kissed her
forehead and then slipped a hand behind her to squeeze one of her
supple cheeks to urge her to start walking again.

He hoped that her fear of thinking of the inevitable had passed
and looked to her face to see worry lines across her forehead and
some bewilderment in her face.

“What is it honey? I can’t make love to you if you’re all
stressed out about things you can’t do anything about.” Joe
whispered tenderly.

“No, it’s not that. You know before when that whole rush of
memories about our first trip here ran up on me. That door just
kind of opened and suddenly that book opened.”

“That shouldn’t worry you Essy, we had a great time here, and I’m
glad you can remember every little detail now.”

A certain look of horror came across Selena’s face as she looked
Joe square in the eye.

“What if the rape, and having the baby, and God only knows what
else happened to me, all rushes back some day? I don’t think I
could handle it.” She said as the furrow in her brow got deeper.

“Selena! What happened has happened and you survived it all. Yes,
those moments will certainly cause you pain if you remember them,
but, you survived. You made it. I’m here with you, and you’re
here with me. I’ll always be there to help you through anything.
Just think about how tough we are!” Joe explained.

Selena broke down crying and hugged Joe tightly. “What if it
happens after you’re gone?”

“You’re talking crazy now, baby. Don’t dwell on things you can’t
help. Maybe when we get home you ought to go and see Philly so
she can add some perspective for you. She probably knows you
better than anyone, except me. Plus she knows how to help you put
things in perspective. OK?” Joe said looking at her worried.

“Get that look off your face, Joe. I’m not a nut ball. I just
NEED the perspective and you’re right, Philly is probably the
best person to talk to. Do you think I would have taken the
responsibility of my job if I thought I wasn’t grounded, TOTALLY.
I was chosen to lead the pack and be the direction finder for the
firm. I’m not worried that I’m a little crazy. I’m just worried
that something that caused me to go into a hard shell will
playback in my head and start everything all over again, although
I’m stronger than that now. Philly forced me to kick down that
shell and I remember how good it felt.”

“That a girl! That sounds like my Essy!” Joe said hugging her
tightly once again.
“Fear of the unknown is rational and you’ve learned how to face
it. Now, let’s put it out of our minds.”

Selena hugged him back tightly and then whispered in his ear.
“You better be ready to fuck the daylights out of me, over and
over, because my pussy is wet and sloppy ready for you.”

Suddenly she broke away and ran the last 50 feet to the door,
with Joe chasing close behind like a dog in heat.


  
Selena and Joe   An improbable New Beginning